Bankruptcy serves many purposes. You may need to file bankruptcy to stop something bad from happening – such as a foreclosure, vehicle repossession, wage garnishment, or even just to stop harassing phone calls and letters. No doubt being in debt has been stressful for you and achieving peace of mind may be a major reason why you want to file bankruptcy.
Legally speaking, however, the ultimate goal of your bankruptcy filing is to obtain a “discharge.” When you successfully complete your bankruptcy case, your bankruptcy judge will an order of discharge. This order means that your debts have been forever extinguished and you no longer have any legal obligation to pay these debts.
In a Chapter 7 case this means that the trustee has completed his evaluation of your bankruptcy estate. Assuming that you have not reaffirmed any debts or that there has not been any successful action by creditors to declare some of your debts as non-dischargeable, your Chapter 7 discharge means that you are debt free.
Interestingly, debt buyers sometime purchase at pennies on the dollar debts that have been discharged in Chapter 7. These debt buyers send out collection letters and make collection calls hoping that the discharged Chapter 7 debtor does not understand the meaning of a bankruptcy discharge. Do not fall for this type of scam – discharged debts are not collectible and you should never allow yourself to be tricked or guilted into paying a debt that the law says you do not have to pay.
In a Chapter 13 case, you receive your discharge after satisfactorily completing your plan. As is the case with Chapter 7, a Chapter 13 discharge means that your debts have been discharged and you are legally forgiven from ever having to pay these debts back.
Clark & Washington clients are always welcome to call our office at any time if they have questions about their Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 discharge. Even when your case is over, you can rely on Clark & Washington to support you and answer your bankruptcy related questions for as long as necessary.