What Is A Bankruptcy Discharge?

A discharge is a court order that eliminates debt. When you receive a discharge after filing a bankruptcy case, that means that the debts that you brought to the court have been eliminated. Either the court has liquidated all your non-exempt assets to pay them off, your debt was reorganized into a payment plan and paid off, or you were declared to have no assets by the court and your debt was eliminated. Once these debts are eliminated by the court through a discharge, you are no longer liable for them.

In order to receive a discharge from the court, you have to file for bankruptcy, complete debt education and credit counseling courses, meet with your creditors and answer questions about your finances, and complete other requirements, depending on the type of bankruptcy you filed.

The goal in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases is to obtain a discharge of your debts and get a fresh start.

There are some debts, however, that aren’t eligible for discharge, no matter how little income you have or how much debt you owe. These debts include:

• Most types of school loans
• Child support
• Taxes (3 years old or less)
• Alimony
• Criminal penalties
• DUI judgments

Over the past 33 years, the Law Offices of Christopher A. Benson has helped over 2,300 of Washington clients take control of their financial situation. We can stop your garnishment and change your monthly payments for all your combined unsecured debt, and if you have had more than $600 garnished within the last 90 days, we can get all of the money back in most cases. But you have to act quickly–call (253) 815-6940 for your free consultation, or email us today. Evening and weekend appointments available.