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Keywords: child support . alimony . priority . Chapter 13 plan .

Topic #67:: Chapter 13: When debts are considered 'domestic support payments' for purposes of repayment priority in a chapter 13 plan

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Chapter 13: When debts are considered 'domestic support payments' for purposes of repayment priority in a chapter 13 plan

1 Cases , IssueID 67

Topic Description:

Payments for domestic support get priority treatment under a chapter 13 plan. (i.e. they get paid first) So it matters allot whether a debt is classified as this kind of debt. Lately there have been cases that are expanding this definition to include repayment of welfare or foodstamp overpayments.

Lines of Cases:

A:

B::

Welfare and foodstamp overpayments (sinister line of cases)

  • Type B = Welfare and foodstamp overpayments (sinister line of cases)
  • Type E = "Everything Else"
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Cases for Zip , California Northern District Bankruptcy Court

Ninth Circuit Cases

No Ninth Circuit cases in database on this topic

Other Circuits

� In re Harris

Bankr. D.Neb. - - - ,

Google ID#:
(Type : )

In a divorce settlement, debtor was ordered to pay $3,000 per month to his ex-wife. He was also ordered to pay an additional $1,000 per month to equalize the marital property distribution. During the bankruptcy proceedings here, the ex-wife objected to a plan where debtor's $1,000 per month obligation was not treated as a secured debt. The ex-wife argued that this amount was a "domestic support obligation." The court found that it was not a domestic support obligation, since the court that had decided the debtor's divorce had already considered what was sufficient domestic support when it ordered the $3,000 per month alimony payments.

� In re Harris

Bankr. D.Neb. - - - ,

Google ID#:
(Type : )

In a divorce settlement, debtor was ordered to pay $3,000 per month to his ex-wife. He was also ordered to pay an additional $1,000 per month to equalize the marital property distribution. During the bankruptcy proceedings here, the ex-wife objected to a plan where debtor's $1,000 per month obligation was not treated as a secured debt. The ex-wife argued that this amount was a "domestic support obligation." The court found that it was not a domestic support obligation, since the court that had decided the debtor's divorce had already considered what was sufficient domestic support when it ordered the $3,000 per month alimony payments.

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When you read a case, check to make sure that the case's decision applies to your local district. Do this by looking at which court has decided the case -- either the U.S. Supreme Court, a court of appeal (listed here in large type), or a district court (listed in small type).  Your local district court judge is not bound to follow the opinion of judges from other district courts, but often they look to these cases for advice. Your local district, however, is bound  to follow decisions in cases from it governing circuit court. You'll see fairly few Supreme Court case here, but those cases are also binding on all districts."

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This database does not contain every relevant case in every district on the topics covered; there are high priced services for that. This is free. It is offered to the public "as is" as an adjunct to the Nolo books, How to File Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Keep Your Property and Repay Your Debts Over Time (10th Edition, 2010): which I co-author with attorney Stephen Elias.

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Some of these issues involve the discretion of the judge which can vary from judge to judge. So, even if you find a case just like yours where a judge went your way, as they say in the car biz, "your mileage may vary..."

If you're not familiar with what "case law" is, and how to use it, check out Chapter 7 of Nolo's LegalResearch: How to Find and Understand the Law for a guide to how to read through a case to get the parts that matter.

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