Do you have to pay anybody after declaring bankruptcy?
This depends on the chapter of bankruptcy you file and your liquidation analysis results.
When you declare bankruptcy, a lot of people assume that you have to pay off all your debts to the people you owe money. The truth is that you don't have to pay anybody unless a debt is non-dischargeable or your assets and income exceed your debts. There is a liquidation analysis that your attorney should do and that the trustee will do to make sure you aren’t taking advantage of the bankruptcy laws. So, depending on the specifics of your case, if you are in debt and you declare bankruptcy, you may not have to pay anybody. It’s fact specific.
Basically, you can't declare a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you have a lot of assets, like cars or a house with a ton of equity in them and lots of assets — well, you can, you just might not like the outcome of that case. Generally, your best bet if you want to keep some of your stuff is to file for Chapter 13 and pay back some or all of what you owe on an installment plan. However, if your debts outweigh your assets and none of them are worth very much—like if most of what you owe is in credit card debt—you might be able to clear yourself from it all with a Chapter 7 filing.
Your best step is to call a bankruptcy attorney and get a free consultation. This law firm below does free bankruptcy consultations. Give them a call and they can guide you.
Ascent Law LLC
8833 S Redwood Rd Suite C
West Jordan UT 84088
(801) 676-5506
