As you may be aware, not all debts are dischargeable in a bankruptcy. One of the most common nondischargeable debts is martial debts and domestic support obligations. Under prior law, debts that were not classified as support obligations but were incurred in the course of a divorce or separation, such as property settlements, were dischargeable under limited circumstances. The rationale was that if the obligations were not support related, a debtor should be able to discharge the debt if the benefit to the debtor outweighed the detrimental consequences to the former spouse or child of the debtor.

Under the bankruptcy revisions enacted as part of the Bankruptcy Abuse and Prevention Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), Congress removed the distinction between support obligations and nonsupport obligations. The consequence of the change is simply that domestic debts, regardless of whether they are support related, are no longer dischargeable under either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. See 11 U.S.C. 523(a).

- Richard V. Stokan, Jr.