The bills included in bankruptcy really means all of them. Its not always simple trying to figure the ins and outs of bankruptcy law in Oklahoma. To begin with our Clients are in deep financial trouble attempting to fend off the stress of finances only to face the complications of bankruptcy law. Clients come to us in a general state of financial panic. They wonder what bills are included in bankruptcy together with a thousand other important questions. We tell them to take it easy and let our bankruptcy lawyers take over. The truth is that Oklahoma bankruptcy doesn’t have to be so hard. Our attorneys take the time to go over your case with you and help reduce the anxiety by providing you with answers to bankruptcy questions.

Common Questions About Bills Included in Bankruptcy:

A question we get asked frequently is “what bills are included in bankruptcy?  Can I exclude some of them?”  The short answer is, all of your debts debts must be included.  The longer answer is a bit more complicated.

11 U.S.C. § 521(A)(1)(a) states the first item in a list of the debtor’s duties is to file a list of his or her creditors.  This has been interpreted to mean all of his or her creditors, no exceptions.  A creditor is any person or entity the debtor owes money to, be it a credit card, a bank, a medical bill, an individual, or anyone or thing else.  A debtor can keep a debt by reaffirmation if he wants to keep property that is secured by that debt, but even in that case, the creditor is still listed.

If Its in Your Name Include the Bill in Bankruptcy:

That said, there is an important distinction to be made.  The duty created by §521 only applies to persons who are actually filing.  If the debtor is married, but filing individually, the only creditors included are ones that the debtor is actually named on.  Suppose the debtor has a credit card in his name, a car loan in both his and his wife’s name, and his wife has a medical bill in her name.  If the debtor is filing by himself, he would include the credit card and the car loan, but not the medical bill, as it is not in his name.  Of course, if the debtor and his wife are filing jointly, all three would be included.

Bankruptcy and Medical Bills of a Spouse:

In Oklahoma one spouse is responsible for the medical debt of the other spouse. This means that if at any time during your marriage either partner gets sick and acquires medical debt both spouses are liable for the debt. Sometimes one spouse files a bankruptcy while the other doesn’t. This is fine and it happens all the time. But, in this situation remember that if there’s medical debt from the other spouse and you don’t list it you might latter be liable for it.

In conclusion, Bills Included in Bankruptcy include a list all of the debts on which you are named. This even includes those things that you intend to keep. However, this doesn’t include bills that you are not named on, even if they are your spouses, except for medical bills.