Child Support Lawsuits

• If you have an open lawsuit against you for unpaid child support or alimony, filing bankruptcy will not stop the lawsuit, the State of California Department of Child Support Services warns. Bankruptcy will never stop or reverse lawsuits related to such familial support debts. Many states also assess hefty fines or jail time against people who refuse to pay their child support, or they revoke their driving privileges.
  
  

Credit-Related Lawsuits

• If someone sued you for not paying a debt such as credit cards or medical bills, filing bankruptcy halts that lawsuit. Such creditors cannot issue new lawsuits against you once you file any type of bankruptcy. Unless a creditor can prove you lied to get credit or to file bankruptcy, a bankruptcy judge will discharge in Chapter 7 your legal requirement to pay the debt or partially reduce the debt if you requested Chapter 13 or 11.
  
  

Government Debts

• The federal and state government usually garnish wages or tax refunds to satisfy unpaid obligations. Filing bankruptcy will not stop such actions if they relate to recent tax bills or unpaid federal student loans. The legal actions will stop if your tax bills were incurred at least three years ago. You can request that a judge discharge your federal student loans so you aren't garnished or sued in the future, but don't count on this relief unless your college went out of business or you are severely disabled.
  
  

Crime-Related Lawsuits

• If you were sued due to criminal activities, filing bankruptcy will not make a difference in your case. If you drove while intoxicated and hurt or killed someone or damaged his property, you are fully liable for any lawsuits or court fines. The same rule applies to other crimes such as arson, violent offenses, embezzlement or theft.
  
  

Additional Considerations

• Once a judge completes your bankruptcy case and you incur new debts, you are eligible to be sued if you do not pay the new bills. In most cases you cannot file a new bankruptcy for at least four years, so you should get new credit with caution and always pay the bills on time. Filing bankruptcy will impact your credit rating for seven to 10 years, depending on your type of case, so you should use this time to catch up on debts you could not get out of and to responsibly handle new credit.