Pro Se Not So Easy......

[kornellred]

even if it is a no-asset case.

If a debtor has been, or will be, sued before filing for Chapter 7, and a judgment or judgments have been recorded, are the judgments automatically set aside when the discharge is obtained?

[justbroke]

No, they are not automatically set aside. If the judgment is recorded as a judgment lien, then you will need to file a Motion to Avoid Lien by way of impairment under 11 USC 522(f) in the Bankruptcy court. Once that lien is avoided, then you can file that granted motion with the non-bankruptcy court to set aside the judgment.

I may have just oversimplified it, but, alas, this is the problem with filing pro se. It really isn't that simple when you bring in the complexity of real and personal property, judgments, liens, avoidance, preferences, etc.

[montana59451]

So if it is NOT recorded as a judgement lien, but rather just a judgement then it is automatically discharged? We have 4 high dollar judgements against us BUT non of them are liens against anything. They just hang out there. So in this case they are just discharged? These judgements are against our LLC (and some of them included us personally) but they are not liens on any property.

[justbroke]

If you included them in your Schedules, they should be discharged. However, it doesn't end there. You still must get the judgment discharged in the local court. You would need to follow the procedure for your local court to have the judgment discharged. This is specific to your local court and they may have forms for this. Part of this is to file your suggestion of bankruptcy and you may have to motion the court to discharge the judgment.

[montana59451]

Montana does not have any local forms for such a proceeding. Are there generic forms or do I just serve the court with the notice of bankruptcy and this suffices? These are from courts all over MT. Yes they were all included in my Schedules.

[justbroke]

I can't tell you for Montana. You'll have to find out what the "form" (and I don't mean published "form" I mean structure) is for filing with your Court. Ask the Clerk of the Court if there's a specific "structure", whether it needs to be done on Motion, or if a letter w/ the attached "certified" copy of the discharge order is okay.

There is certainly a process even if there isn't a "form".

[montana59451]

What happens if the judgement is discharged but you don't get the judgement dismissed in the district court? Does that invalidate the discharge of that debt?

What about being sued while in Bankruptcy (all were included in Schedules) but no judgement has been awarded yet? Do you just send the court a copy of the Notice of Bankruptcy and that suffices? Actually we only have 2 awarded judgements and 3 which are in the midst of the court system with no trial date set yet. Sent a copy of the Notice to one of the Courts and of course to all the atty(s) and the plaintiff(s) as these were included on the matrix, but I did not include the actual Courts. Should I send one to each of the districts? Do I do this now or do I have to wait for discharge?

[montana59451]

We must be typing together!

[justbroke]

The three that were in progress should be stopped. For those, you generally only need to file a "suggestion of bankruptcy". Again, how you file that in your local court is specific to that court. I would ask the Clerk of the court for a "procedural" question.

As for the ones that reached final judgment, still ask the clerk for the process/procedure for those as well. Those will require a little more than just your "notice of bankruptcy" or suggestion of bankruptcy.

[montana59451]

Thanks for the info. You are very informative and patient!

[eknshm]

I can't tell you for Montana. You'll have to find out what the "form" (and I don't mean published "form" I mean structure) is for filing with your Court. Ask the Clerk of the Court if there's a specific "structure", whether it needs to be done on Motion, or if a letter w/ the attached "certified" copy of the discharge order is okay.

There is certainly a process even if there isn't a "form".

I have the same problem and just filed Chapter 7. I included all court address on my mailing matrix. This means the court will send them notice of the discharge. So then, would I still need to file a motion to notify each court? My bankruptcy book did not say that.

thanks.

[justbroke]

I have the same problem and just filed Chapter 7. I included all court address on my mailing matrix. This means the court will send them notice of the discharge. So then, would I still need to file a motion to notify each court? My bankruptcy book did not say that.

The bankruptcy book does not really go into procedure. Procedure is something of an art form and varies across various Bankruptcy Districts and certainly amongst the municipal, county and State court systems!

You need to follow the process for your specific municipal, county or State court system. You need to contact that Clerk of the Court for a procedural question on how to discharge a judgment. Some courts have forms for this and some do not. Again, this is all specific to your local court.

The place to start is the Clerk's office.

[eknshm]

The bankruptcy book does not really go into procedure. Procedure is something of an art form and varies across various Bankruptcy Districts and certainly amongst the municipal, county and State court systems!

You need to follow the process for your specific municipal, county or State court system. You need to contact that Clerk of the Court for a procedural question on how to discharge a judgment. Some courts have forms for this and some do not. Again, this is all specific to your local court.

The place to start is the Clerk's office.

Thanks again!