Can I Be Denied a Bankruptcy Discharge of my Debts?

Yes, you can be denied a bankruptcy discharge but this is a rare occurrence. The most common occurrence is when a Debtor has committed a fairly serious fraud against his creditors. A more common occurrence, but still rare, is being denied a discharge of a single debt for various legal reasons. There are a few sections of the bankruptcy code that discuss the discharge in general or discharge of certain debts. These section can be found at 11 U.S.C. §523 and 11 U.S.C. §727.

Some of the common debts that can be denied a discharge include debts that are incurred within 90 days of the filing of a bankruptcy that are in excess of $500.00 and obtained for luxury goods or services, cash advances aggregating more than $750 that are extensions of consumer credit under an open end credit plan obtained by an individual debtor on or within 70 days before the order for relief under this title, are presumed to be non-dischargeable. These issues usually arise in a chapter 7 and most always result in only the questionable debt being determined non-dischargeable.

On more rare occasions, a debtor may be denied a discharge of his entire case for more serious offenses that include fraudulent transfers prior to the filing of a bankruptcy, false or untrue information in the filed bankruptcy schedules, and hiding assets with intent to defraud creditors. These are a few of the more serious issues that will lead to eventual denial of a bankruptcy discharge.

In addition,  a debtor can also be denied a discharge of the entire case if the debtor, or joint debtors, fail to complete a post-petition financial management course or has received a discharge from a previous bankruptcy within a certain time period.  The bankruptcy code sets out the financial management requirement as well as the time limitations between bankruptcy discharges.

If you are under financial strain and are not sure what to do, please contact our office nearest you and schedule your free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys who can help you navigate this process successfully.