Non-Dischargeable Debts

The debts a bankruptcy discharge does not erase - child and spousal support, most taxes, most student loans, criminal fines, debts from fraud or drunk-driving injuries - and the difference between those that survive automatically and those a creditor must ask the court to preserve.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of Bankruptcy law firms.

What it means

The Bankruptcy Code lists categories of debt that survive a discharge. Some survive automatically, whether or not anyone raises them: domestic-support obligations; most income taxes, depending on how old the tax year is, when the return was filed and whether it was honest; debts not listed in the schedules in time for the creditor to file a claim; criminal fines, restitution and most government penalties; debts for death or personal injury caused by driving while intoxicated; and debts left over from a prior bankruptcy case in which the discharge was denied or waived. These are simply outside the order.

Three categories survive only if the creditor sues in the bankruptcy court, within a short deadline after the meeting of creditors, and proves the ground: debts obtained by fraud, false pretences or a materially false written financial statement; debts for fraud or defalcation by a fiduciary, embezzlement or larceny; and debts for willful and malicious injury to a person or property. A creditor that misses the deadline loses the objection and the debt is discharged like any other. Credit-card charges and cash advances taken shortly before filing carry a statutory presumption of fraud that the debtor must rebut.

Student loans are the notable middle case: a loan made, insured or guaranteed by a government, or a qualified private education loan, is discharged only if the debtor files a separate proceeding and proves that repaying it would impose an undue hardship - a standard the courts have historically applied strictly, though the Department of Justice adopted a more predictable process for federal loans in 2022. In Chapter 13 a somewhat broader discharge is available at the end of a completed plan: certain property-settlement debts from a divorce and some other categories that survive a Chapter 7 discharge do not survive a Chapter 13 one.

Where this comes from

When people hire a lawyer for this

Which debts survive is the question that decides whether bankruptcy solves a person's problem or merely rearranges it, and it is not answerable from a list: whether a particular tax year is dischargeable, whether a divorce decree obligation is support or property settlement, and whether a student loan might clear the hardship standard each turn on facts a lawyer has to examine. A person facing a creditor's fraud complaint inside the case should not ignore it - a default in that proceeding makes the debt permanent - and a person who used credit heavily in the weeks before filing should say so before the trustee reads the statements.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find Bankruptcy law firms in your state

Choose your state to see Bankruptcy law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Bankruptcy & Debt” has no Bankruptcy listing yet and opens the broader page.

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  • and 7 more with fewer listed firms
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Related terms

Entries on the same subject:

• Automatic StayThe immediate, court-ordered halt to most collection activity that takes effect the moment a bankruptcy case is filed.
• Bankruptcy DischargeThe court order that ends personal liability for the debts covered by a bankruptcy case - what it does, what it does not do to liens and co-signers, when it is entered, and how it can be denied or later revoked.
• Bankruptcy ExemptionsThe property a person filing bankruptcy keeps - the home equity, vehicle, household goods, tools, retirement accounts and other assets the law places beyond the reach of the trustee and creditors - and the state-by-state choice of which exemption list applies.
• Bankruptcy Means TestThe income calculation that decides whether a person may file a Chapter 7 case or is steered into a Chapter 13 repayment plan - a comparison of household income against the state median, followed if necessary by a line-by-line deduction of allowed expenses.
• Bankruptcy Trustee and the Meeting of CreditorsThe person appointed to administer a bankruptcy case and the short, sworn examination every debtor must attend - what the trustee is looking for, who actually turns up, and what happens after.
• Chapter 13 BankruptcyA reorganization bankruptcy for individuals with regular income: debts are repaid in part through a court-approved plan.
• Chapter 7 BankruptcyA liquidation bankruptcy: non-exempt property may be sold to pay creditors, and qualifying debts are discharged.
• Preferences and Fraudulent Transfers (Clawback)The trustee's power to undo payments and transfers made before a bankruptcy was filed - a repayment to a relative, a property signed over to a family member, a creditor paid ahead of the others - and why "I paid my brother back first" is a problem rather than a virtue.
• Reaffirmation AgreementA voluntary agreement in a Chapter 7 case to remain personally liable on a debt - usually a car loan - that the discharge would otherwise wipe out, in exchange for keeping the property; what it costs, the court's role, and the alternatives of redemption and simply continuing to pay.
• Small Business Bankruptcy (Chapter 11 and Subchapter V)The reorganization chapter for a business that wants to keep operating while it restructures its debts, and the streamlined subchapter Congress added for small businesses - who qualifies, how a plan is confirmed, and what happens to the owner's personal guarantees.

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

• Being Sued for a DebtWhat to do when a creditor or debt buyer files a lawsuit over a credit card, medical bill or other consumer debt: answering, the defenses that often apply, and what a judgment allows the creditor to take.
• Collecting a JudgmentWinning a case and being paid are two different things - the second is a separate process the winner has to start.
• Student Loan DefaultWhat happens when federal or private student loans go into default, the government's collection powers that need no lawsuit, the ways out of default, and when the loans can be discharged.

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