Most of my clients with child support obligations know that bankruptcy will not wipe away their obligation to pay their child support obligation. However, not everyone knows that Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows a debtor to pay back child support arrearages in their plan payment over a five-year-period. This can be very helpful to a debtor who is up against a family court contempt hearing for failure to pay child support payments. In my past experiences, a Chapter 13 plan filed before a family court contempt hearing will most likely stop the family court from moving forward on the contempt issue. This allows the debtor to move forward with his or her Chapter 13 bankruptcy to pay back the child support arrearages.
Please note that although the debtor is protected by the Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, the debtor still has to file a feasible plan that will pay back the child support arrearages. If the debtor does not have a job, the case will ultimately be dismissed due to feasibility issues.