Under 11 USC 727(c), a bankruptcy trustee, a creditor or the U.S. trustee may object to the granting of a discharge. A party with interest in the debt may request that the trustee investigate the conduct of a debtor to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to deny the discharge. A creditor may attempt to prove that you lied or defrauded them in an effort to prevent a discharge. The most common creditors to take such action are credit card companies. The goal of the creditor is to get the debtor to reaffirm the debt even though they have done nothing wrong. If you have done nothing wrong, you should never reaffirm the debt because if the creditor files a fraud case and you win, the court may order the creditor to pay your attorney fees.

A discharge can also be revoked after being granted for the following reasons:

- The discharge was obtained through fraud of the debtor and the requesting party did not know about the fraud until after the discharge was granted;

- The debtor knowingly and fraudulently failed to report or surrender property;

- The debtor refuses to obey a lawful order of the court or refuses to testify as to a material question;

- The debtor fails to explain a material misstatement in a U.S. trustee audit and/or fails to make all necessary records available when requested for an audit by a U.S. trustee.

Filing for bankruptcy protection is never easy but remember the bankruptcy laws are there to help you as a debtor.  As long as you are truthful in your submissions to the court and keep accurate records, you should avoid any difficulties in having and keeping qualified debt discharged.

- Richard V. Stokan, Jr.