Introduction

[BBoop2019]

Hi. I filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy 3 years ago. My ex and I had made an exchange in the divorce for him to be responsible for the IRS and credit card debt in exchange for him withholding the first 30 military pension payments if $1,300 ($39,000) when he eventually retired. He received them all. He defaulted in the IRS payments causing me to file bankruptcy since the IRS sent me Notices to Levy/Garnish. Early on he tried to get my bankruptcy petition denied due to future pension payments due some 15 months after filing. Ironically I had to take him to divorce court to enforce starting those pension payments. Recently we filed restraining order petitions against one another. He’s claiming I’m harassing him and he’s the victim of 25-30 years of domestic violence although it is the other way around. I’ve paid in excess of $35k to IRS since the divorce and have a hearing to seek judgment for that and bankruptcy costs next month in our divorce court. He now has filed an adversary case in my bankruptcy claiming I’m using the restraining order petition and new divorce motion for reimbursement of my IRS payments as harassment of a Creditor. He hasn’t been a creditor since receiving the last pension withheld on June 1, 2020.

[shipo]

Geez, good luck BBoop2019, I cannot image the stress you're going through; please keep us posted on your progress. I'm thinking justbroke will be chiming in here as he also had an ugly divorce, in Florida, while in the midst of a bankruptcy; hopefully he has some encouraging words.

Back in 2013 when our financial house finished a slow and agonizing collapse, my wife and I separated and we were both forced to file for bankruptcy protection, her a Chapter 7 in 2014 and me a Chapter 13 a year later. There were lots of issues, the IRS, her small business failure, my (former) business partner's debt which he ran up in my name..., it was ugly. The stress we went through wasn't but a fraction of what you're going through as we kept in touch and ultimately got back together.

[justbroke]

No encouraging words. Divorce can be ugly and despite my issues, we did depart amicably; just cost me a lot of money.

I think your ex-spouse chooses the bankruptcy court because they seem to do things faster in that context. As you seem to know, enforcement of the marital property / separation agreement is likely the purview of the family court. It appears that your ex-spouse is trying to leverage the bankruptcy court's stay powers (it operates like a TRO) to say that you're not permitted to collect on the settlement agreement. This is where your bankruptcy and/or divorce attorney will earn their money by hopefully convincing the bankruptcy court that this is a.) related to a domestic support obligation, and b.) belongs in the family court.

Harassment of a creditor makes me laugh. I do wish you luck.