Q: Does bankruptcy discharge child support obligations?

A: No, it does not discharge child support obligations. You may be able to pay back arreages in a chapter 13 plan. Talk with a bankruptcy lawyer to see if chapter 13 might be a good option. Good luck!

A: No it does not remove your obligation to pay child support. In fact, if you filed a Chapter 13, you would have to pay the delinquent amount in full during the Chapter 13 Plan.

A: Child support and alimony are non dischargeable debts. You can repay child support through a Chapter 13 and you can repay child support as a priority debt which paid in full before any unsecured debt is paid. Bankruptcy can be a took to repay child support but it does not discharge child support or alimony. These debts are not even stayed by filing the bankruptcy. A spouse can seek an increase in the child support amount while the Bankruptcy case is going on. The county attorney can prosecute and jail a parent for not paying the child support while the Bankruptcy case is pending. But if a person wanted to repay the debt through the bankruptcy most county attorneys would allow it. While student loans are also normally non dischargeable debts they are not priority debts and they are only paid after child support and income taxes are paid in first place.

It could be a tool people used to repay but it is rarely used and rarely understood by the county attorneys and even state court judges who rarely or never see it used to repay support. It is a very strong tool that can insure child support is paid first, mortgages and cars are paid second and unsecured credit cards, student loans and medical debts are paid dead last.

A: No. Bankruptcy does not discharge any domestic support obligations, which include child support.