My creditor says I can't include them in my bankruptcy. Is that true?

The rule

No creditor can stop you from filing.

A creditor cannot block your bankruptcy because it objects to your decision, and it cannot demand that you leave its debt off your paperwork. Every debt gets listed. That includes unsecured debts like credit cards, medical bills, deficiencies and collection accounts, and it also includes debts you may continue to pay, like child support, criminal fines, retirement loans and your mortgage.

Listing a debt does not automatically mean you stop paying it. It means the court gets a complete picture, and then we determine how each creditor is affected by your particular filing. That answer varies depending on which chapter you file and the nature of the debt, which is exactly why we go through every single creditor with you at the consultation.

Don't leave anyone off because you're afraid naming them causes trouble. It's the other way around: the full list is what protects you.

Phone wisdom

Be careful what debt collectors tell you.

If a collector says "you can't bankrupt this debt," treat that as a red flag about the collector, not as the law. A collector doesn't know your full financial picture, and the collector doesn't decide what gets listed in your bankruptcy. A judge does, with rules Congress wrote.

What they CAN do

What creditors actually argue about.

Being listed is not the same as agreeing with every term, and in a Chapter 13 a secured creditor sometimes objects to the interest rate we propose to pay, or to how the plan treats them. That is a disagreement between lawyers about terms. It is not a veto over your case, and it is not a rejection of you.

Here is how I put it in the handout I wrote for my own clients: if you get an objection from a creditor or the trustee, do not be concerned. We anticipate most objections we get. Most creditor objections are filed by the lien holder on your car wanting a different interest rate, and we see those coming before they're filed.

A mortgage is not treated like a credit card. A retirement loan is not a medical bill. Child support raises different questions than a collection account. You don't have to sort any of that out before calling. Sorting it is the job, and it's why the consultation walks through your creditors one at a time.

The fine print, honestly

The few situations where a debt really is different.

I'll be straight with you, because that's the only way I know how to do this.

A debt you take on after your case is filed can't be included in it. Retirement loans, like a loan against your 401(k), sit outside the bankruptcy too, for tax reasons. And if you had a recent bankruptcy case that was dismissed, there are a few narrow situations where a creditor can object to a new filing. Those refiling rules get complicated fast, and whether one applies to you depends entirely on what happened in the earlier case.

None of these are reasons to avoid calling. They're reasons to call sooner, because every one of them is easier to handle before you file than after. Tell us about every debt and every prior case at your first appointment and we will spot anything unusual before it can surprise you.

Common questions

The questions people are afraid to ask.

Do I have to list all my creditors? Yes. Every creditor, including ones you expect to keep paying. Listing a creditor does not by itself mean you stop paying that debt.

What happens if I forget to list a creditor? We amend your schedules to add them. The court charges a fee of around $36 for that. And in a Chapter 7, a genuinely forgotten debt is typically discharged anyway. The exception is leaving a creditor off on purpose, like hiding the case from someone you owe. Don't do that. Forgetting is fixable; hiding is not.

Can I leave a credit card out so I can keep using it? All debts get listed, including that card. And here's the practical truth: once you file, most card companies cancel your cards no matter what you do, and in a Chapter 13 you can't take on new debt without court permission anyway. The card was never going to survive the filing, so don't risk your case for it.

Can a creditor refuse to be part of my bankruptcy? No. A creditor can raise a narrow issue about one specific debt in the situations above, and in a Chapter 13 it can argue about proposed terms. It cannot refuse to be included and it cannot stop you from filing.