After a discharge, creditors cannot collect the wiped-out debt from you
11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2)
In plain words
A bankruptcy discharge wipes out your personal liability for most debts in the case. After that, the law forbids creditors from suing, calling or otherwise trying to collect a discharged debt from you personally. A court can hold a creditor in contempt if there was no fair doubt that its conduct was barred.
Who is protected
People who received a bankruptcy discharge.
When it applies
- Only for debts that were actually discharged in your case.
What you can do
Keep your discharge order handy
If a creditor tries to collect a discharged debt, send it a copy of the discharge order and keep records of every contact. Tell your bankruptcy lawyer.
Open the toolFix your credit report
If a discharged debt still shows as owed, dispute it with the credit bureaus.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- A discharge removes personal liability, but a mortgage or other lien on your home generally stays. If payments stop, the lender can still foreclose on the home.
- Some debts are not discharged, such as most recent taxes, support obligations and most student loans.
- Bankruptcy information here is education only. Whether and how to file is a legal decision — talk to a bankruptcy attorney or legal aid office. Many offer free consultations.
- This is general legal information, not legal advice, and it does not promise any result. A HUD-approved housing counselor or a lawyer can look at your facts.
The law
- Federal lawBankruptcy Code — discharge injunction
11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2)
Exact part: (a)(2)
What it says: A discharge operates as an injunction against any act to collect a discharged debt as a personal liability of the debtor.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section524&num=0&edition=prelim - Court decisionTaggart — contempt for discharge violations
Taggart v. Lorenzen, 587 U.S. 554 (2019)
What it says: A court may hold a creditor in civil contempt when there is no fair ground of doubt that the discharge order barred its conduct.
Read the official texthttps://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/18-489 - Federal lawBankruptcy petition preparers may not give legal advice
11 U.S.C. § 110(e)(2)
Exact part: (e)(2)
What it says: Non-lawyer bankruptcy petition preparers may not advise a debtor whether to file or which chapter to use.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title11-section110&num=0&edition=prelim
Court cases
- Partial winCited for this rightTaggart v. Lorenzen
Taggart v. Lorenzen, 587 U.S. 554 (2019)
a creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating a bankruptcy discharge order when there is no fair ground of doubt that the order barred its conduct
- Homeowner wonSame topicBartee v. Tara Colony Homeowners Ass'n
Bartee v. Tara Colony Homeowners Ass'n (In re Bartee), 212 F.3d 277 (5th Cir. 2000)
Chapter 13's anti-modification rule does not protect a junior lienholder whose lien is not supported by any value in the debtor's home
- Homeowner lostSame topicMidland Funding, LLC v. Johnson
Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, 581 U.S. 224 (2017)
filing an obviously time-barred proof of claim in bankruptcy does not violate the FDCPA
- Homeowner lostSame topicBFP v. Resolution Trust Corp.
BFP v. Resol. Tr. Corp., 511 U.S. 531 (1994)
the price received at a non-collusive foreclosure sale that complied with state law is reasonably equivalent value under the Bankruptcy Code
- Homeowner lostSame topicNobelman v. American Savings Bank
Nobelman v. Am. Sav. Bank, 508 U.S. 324 (1993)
a Chapter 13 debtor may not reduce a mortgage secured only by the principal residence to the fair market value of the home
- Homeowner wonSame topicJerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A.
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A., 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
the FDCPA's bona fide error defense does not excuse a debt collector's incorrect interpretation of what the Act requires
- Homeowner wonSame topicYoung v. Repine (In re Repine)
Young v. Repine (In re Repine), 536 F.3d 512 (5th Cir. 2008)
a creditor who knows of a bankruptcy and keeps pursuing collection willfully violates the automatic stay and may owe the debtor damages and attorney's fees
Related rights
The automatic stay: filing bankruptcy pauses most collection
11 U.S.C. § 362(a)
When a bankruptcy case is filed, an "automatic stay" goes into effect right away. It generally stops lawsuits, foreclosure steps, and other collection against you and your property, without anyone needing to ask a judge. Creditors who knowingly violate it can owe damages.
Read this rightDispute errors on your credit report
15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)(A)
If your credit report has something wrong or incomplete — like a payment reported late that you made on time — you can dispute it with the credit bureau for free. The bureau must investigate, usually within 30 days, and fix or delete information it cannot verify.
Read this rightNo lies or misleading claims by debt collectors
15 U.S.C. § 1692e
A debt collector may not lie or mislead you. It cannot misstate how much you owe, pretend to be a lawyer or government official, or threaten something it cannot legally do or does not intend to do. It also cannot report credit information it knows is false, or fail to say a debt is disputed.
Read this rightConstitutional homestead for married persons and heads of family
Ark. Const. art. 9, § 3
Arkansas’s Constitution protects the homestead of a resident who is married or the head of a family from judgment liens and forced sale, except for purchase money, certain liens for improvements, and taxes. In a city or town the homestead is up to one acre (value limit $2,500), but never less than one-quarter acre regardless of value; rural homesteads are larger.
Read this rightConstitutional homestead: unlimited value, limited by acreage
Fla. Const. art. X, § 4(a)(1)
Florida’s Constitution protects your homestead from forced sale by most creditors, with no dollar limit. The limit is size: up to one-half acre inside a city or town, or up to 160 acres outside one. It does not protect against the mortgage used to buy or improve the home, or against property taxes.
Read this rightYour homestead is protected from forced sale for most debts
Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 50(a)
The Texas Constitution protects a family’s or single adult’s homestead from forced sale for almost all debts. The protection has no dollar cap; it is limited by land size (10 acres in a town or city; up to 200 acres rural for a family, 100 for a single adult). Only listed debts — like the purchase loan, property taxes, valid home-equity loans and home-improvement liens — can force a sale.
Read this right