Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Child Support

There are situations in life when people lose command over various financial things in life and they find themselves in clutches of loans and creditors. This situation is much tensed for a person, especially a person that has a family and children to support. In such a case it is always a better option to see towards filing of bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy can give you relief from your problems in a lawful and an organized manner. There are basically two types of bankruptcy filing. The first one is under the chapter 13 bankruptcy code and the other one is chapter 7. Most types of the debt are covered under these two chapters. However, there are some types of debts that are not covered, like student loan, tax liabilities or child support payments. Basically these debts are not eligible of discharge. Whenever a person decides to file for chapter 7 bankruptcy, he needs to consider the type of debt he is applying for. This will help him to choose a right plan and the right process. U.S. law for child support is made in such a manner that even if in state of financial crisis the parents do not have an option to run away from their responsibility to support their child. In fact, if either parent is felonious in the payment for the support of the child, then the back payments are considered "child support payments in arrears". In case a person is liable to support a dependent, it comes under the bankruptcy law wherein he needs to pay its debt in a timely manner. Basically, these payments made to support a child are called as "debts in nature of support". However, as mentioned earlier they still do not get eligible for discharge under the chapter 7 and chapter 13 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. Filing for chapter 7 or chapter 13 becomes helpful to parents in a manner that at least they will have an option to reduce their debts and instead use the remaining funds to support their children through back payments as well as timely payments in the future. However, it is very important that when a parent is filing for bankruptcy, they should analyze their financial situation as well as their liabilities towards their children. A parent that already has liability to support a child can sometimes make a special request for child support in bankruptcy court. In that case he/she should be well prepared and make the child support recipient present in court.