Divorce and Bankruptcy Attorneys in West Springfield, MA

Two things go wrong at once more often than people expect. A marriage ends, and household finances that were already strained stop working entirely, or the debt was what ended the marriage in the first place.

Sclafani & Moriarty handles both sides of that situation in one office. Attorney Tanya K. Moriarty handles the divorce. Attorney Charles J. Sclafani Jr. handles the bankruptcy. They settle the sequence together, before either case is filed.

Our office is at 776 Westfield Street in West Springfield, serving Hampden County for over 25 years. The initial consultation is free and takes place in our office. Call 413-732-8356.

Why Does the Order of Filing Matter?

Filing order determines which debts are erased, whether spouses can file together, and whether a divorce judgment dividing debt will actually hold. A separation agreement signed before anyone looks at the bankruptcy question can assign obligations that a later discharge quietly undoes.

Most firms do one or the other. When someone hires a divorce lawyer at one office and a bankruptcy lawyer at another, nobody owns the question of which case comes first — and by the time it gets asked, the answer is usually already fixed.

The decisions interlock. Whether you can file jointly depends on whether you are still married. What the Probate and Family Court has left to divide depends on what a discharge has already erased. Whether a debt assigned to your spouse in the separation agreement actually protects you depends on federal bankruptcy law, not on what the agreement says.

None of it is complicated when someone is looking at both cases at the same time. It gets expensive when nobody is.

Should I File Bankruptcy Before or After My Divorce?

Filing first can eliminate shared unsecured debt, simplify what the Probate and Family Court has to divide, and save a second set of fees. Filing afterward can make sense when the debt belongs to one spouse, when incomes differ sharply, or when the divorce should not wait.

There is no universal answer. There is an answer for a particular household, and it usually turns on three things: whose name the debt is in, how far apart the incomes are, and how quickly the marriage needs to end.

Filing first often makes sense when the debt is shared, the incomes are similar, and neither spouse is in a hurry. A joint case clears the credit cards and medical bills before the divorce, which leaves the Probate and Family Court dividing assets instead of arguing over who absorbs which balance. One filing fee, one set of attorney’s fees, one case.

Filing afterward often makes sense when the debt belongs to one spouse, when a large income gap would complicate a joint filing, or when safety concerns or anything else means the divorce should move first. Household income is also measured differently once spouses are living apart, which can change eligibility.

The question is worth asking before the separation agreement is drafted rather than after it is signed.

Can We Still File Bankruptcy Together?

A joint bankruptcy petition can only be filed by two people who are still married. In Massachusetts, spouses remain married through the nisi period, which runs 90 or 120 days past the divorce hearing depending on how the case was filed.

Federal law lets a married couple file one petition covering both of them. Once the divorce is final, that option is gone permanently. Two former spouses cannot file a joint case, however tangled the shared debt is.

Massachusetts timing matters here. A divorce is not final when the judge approves it. A 1A joint petition becomes absolute 120 days later, and a contested 1B case becomes absolute 90 days after the hearing. Until then, the parties are still legally married, which is why neither can remarry during that stretch.

Whether a joint filing makes sense during that window depends on facts specific to the household, and it is a question for the lawyers handling both cases. The point worth carrying away is that the window closes later than most people assume — and it is far better to ask early than to find out afterward that it has shut.

One rule catches couples out. Spouses who file jointly must use the same set of exemptions. One cannot claim the Massachusetts schedule while the other claims the federal one.

Does Filing Bankruptcy Pause My Divorce Case?

Mostly no. The automatic stay does not stop a divorce, a custody case, a support order, or a domestic violence proceeding. It pauses one thing: division of property that belongs to the bankruptcy estate. Even that can be released by the bankruptcy court.

This is the most common misunderstanding in the whole overlap, and it runs both directions. Divorce clients assume a bankruptcy filing freezes everything. Bankruptcy clients assume it shields them from the Probate and Family Court.

Under 11 U.S.C. § 362(b), a bankruptcy filing does not stop:

• The dissolution of the marriage itself
• Establishing or modifying child support or alimony
• Child custody and parenting time
• Establishing paternity
• Domestic violence and abuse prevention proceedings
• Collecting support from property that is not part of the bankruptcy estate
• Income withholding for support

What it does pause is the division of property that has become part of the bankruptcy estate. Even that is not permanent — the bankruptcy court can lift the stay and let the Probate and Family Court divide the property, which is frequently the sensible result.

A bankruptcy filing rarely stops a divorce. It changes the order of operations.

Can Bankruptcy Erase Child Support or Alimony?

No. The Bankruptcy Code treats child support and alimony as domestic support obligations, and they survive a discharge in full. Filing does not stop wage withholding for support, arrears remain collectible after the case has closed, and support claims are treated as a priority in the bankruptcy itself.

There is no version of bankruptcy that erases support. Section 523(a)(5) places domestic support obligations outside the discharge, and the automatic stay carves out support collection specifically.

That cuts both ways, and it is worth knowing which side of it you are on.

If you owe support, bankruptcy will not touch it — though clearing other debt may free up the income to keep up with it. If you are owed support, a former spouse’s bankruptcy does not wipe out what they owe you. Arrears survive, wage assignments continue, and support claims are treated as a priority in the case.

Can Bankruptcy Erase What I Owe My Ex From the Divorce?

Generally no. Obligations to a former spouse that arise from a divorce (e.g., equalization payments, property settlements, an agreement to pay off a particular debt) are not erased by a Chapter 7 discharge. Which chapter you file under can change that answer.

The Bankruptcy Code covers debts owed to a spouse or former spouse that arose from a divorce or separation agreement but are not support. The equalization payment for the house. The promise to pay off the joint card. The obligation to reimburse a retirement withdrawal. In a Chapter 7 case, those survive the discharge alongside support.

Before 2005, there was a balancing test that let some of these debts through. In Chapter 7, there is not anymore.

Labels do not settle it either. Courts look at what an obligation actually does rather than what the agreement calls it. A promise to make the mortgage payment can be treated as support even where the separation agreement files it under property division, and that recharacterization changes the outcome.

Which chapter of bankruptcy a client files under can determine whether an obligation like this survives. It is one of the first things we look at when someone arrives with both problems at once.

What Happens to Joint Debt After the Divorce?

A divorce judgment assigning a debt to one spouse binds that spouse. It does not bind the creditor. If your former spouse stops paying or discharges the balance in bankruptcy, the lender can still pursue you in full on any account that carries your name.

This is the most expensive misunderstanding in the overlap, and it tends to surface years after the divorce is over.

A separation agreement saying your spouse will pay the Visa card is an agreement between the two of you. The bank was not a party to it and is not bound by it. Your name is still on the account.

So when a former spouse files bankruptcy and discharges that balance, the discharge protects them and does nothing for you. The creditor simply turns to the other name on the account.

There are ways to narrow the exposure: closing joint accounts, refinancing into a single name, indemnification language in the agreement, and in some situations dealing with the debt through a bankruptcy before the divorce rather than assigning it afterward. All of them work better before anything is signed.

What Happens to the Marital Home?

The marital home raises questions in both cases at once: how much equity exists, whether the homestead exemption protects it, who stays there during the divorce, and whether a discharge removes liability on the mortgage. It usually does not remove the lien.

Equity is the number that matters, not value. Massachusetts protects home equity through the homestead exemption under Chapter 188, which applies automatically to a principal residence and can be increased by recording a declaration at the registry of deeds.

A discharge can erase personal liability on a mortgage. It does not remove the lien. If the house is being kept, the payments continue. If it is being sold as part of the divorce, the timing of a bankruptcy affects what happens to the proceeds and who receives them.

Whether the home is sold, refinanced, or kept by one spouse belongs in both conversations at once. It is the single asset most likely to be handled badly when the two cases are run by people who are not talking to each other.

What Does It Cost to Handle Both?

The initial consultation at Sclafani & Moriarty is free and covers both sides of the situation in a single meeting. We quote fees for the divorce and the bankruptcy separately, after reviewing what each will involve, and payment plans are available for both matters.

A household facing a divorce and a bankruptcy at the same time is not a household with money to spare, so we try to be plain about what things cost.

Fees are quoted up front for each matter once we know what is involved, and we offer payment schedules. Court costs are separate in both cases, and we walk through them before anything is filed.

The practical saving is not a discount. It is that neither attorney is billing time to learn what the other one already knows.

Contact a West Springfield Divorce and Bankruptcy Lawyer

If you are facing both at once, the most useful thing you can do is talk to someone before either case is filed. The consultation is free and commits you to nothing.

Sclafani & Moriarty
776 Westfield Street
West Springfield, MA 01089
413-732-8356

Attorneys Tanya K. Moriarty and Charles J. Sclafani Jr. offer free initial consultations in our West Springfield office and represent clients throughout Hampden County, including Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, Agawam, Westfield, and Ludlow. Payment plans are available. Call 413-732-8356 or use the contact form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my divorce lawyer and my bankruptcy lawyer actually talk to each other?

In our office, yes — that is the entire point of handling both here. Attorney Moriarty and Attorney Sclafani work out the sequence together at the start, and neither files anything without the other knowing what it does to the other case.

Will my spouse find out if I file for bankruptcy?

Almost certainly. Bankruptcy filings are public record, a spouse in a pending divorce is entitled to financial disclosure, and any joint account holder receives notice as a creditor. Filing quietly during a divorce is not a realistic plan, and attempting it tends to damage your position in both cases.

Can my ex’s bankruptcy reduce the support they owe me?

No. Support obligations survive a discharge, and arrears remain collectible. What a former spouse’s bankruptcy can affect is a property settlement they owe you, and it can leave you exposed on joint debt they were supposed to pay. Bring the bankruptcy notice to us as soon as you receive it.

We already signed the separation agreement. Is it too late?

Not necessarily, but the options narrow. Some obligations can still be addressed depending on the timing and how the agreement was written, and a judgment can sometimes be modified. The sooner we see the agreement, the more room there is to work with.

What if my divorce is in Massachusetts but I want to file bankruptcy elsewhere?

Bankruptcy venue depends on where you have lived and where your assets are, and it does not have to match the state handling your divorce. Hampden County residents generally file in the Western Division in Springfield. If you have recently moved, bring that up early, because residency affects which exemptions you can claim.

This content is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws and statutes are revised and updated periodically, and the information here may not reflect the most current version of the law. You are strongly advised to speak with an attorney about the specifics of your situation.