Do you have too much financial obligation to handle? Maybe your spouse has indicated that support payments or other types of monetary awards are getting to be too much.
Circumstances change. This is a fact. However, you do a lot of work during the divorce process to plan for a stable, manageable, equitable property division strategy. Changing it, via bankruptcy or via any other method, is not something that the courts take lightly.
Which divorce obligations can you erase with bankruptcy?
As explained on FindLaw, you often would not have a clear-cut definition of which divorce debts bankruptcy forgives, if any. However, there is some relevant law that might already apply to your case.
Specifically, there are some sections of the Bankruptcy Code that deal specifically with divorce. These sections could apply to various aspects of your divorce: the original agreement and any changes or relevant bankruptcies, for example.
What are the alternatives to bankruptcy?
If your situation has changed significantly and unexpectedly, you might be able to petition the court for modification of your divorce agreement. Although this is technically not an alternative to bankruptcy, it is similar in the sense that it could get you relief from financial obligations that are causing you undue hardship.
Both bankruptcy and divorce modifications are complex legal procedures. You do not have a guarantee that they will be successful — it truly depends on the details of your case.
The spirit of the law is that nobody should have to face undue hardship after a divorce or due to unmanageable debt. However, you should remember that this principle applies to both sides of the equation: you and your spouse — you and your creditors. It is the role of the court to balance these interests, deciding what to do after considering all the facts both sides provide.