2001 #34A Ward 8-14-01

IN RE: IN RE ABDUL T. WARD, (Paige Hofer-Ward v. Abdul T. Ward) Bankr. No. 00-40098, Adv. No. 00-4011, Chapter 7

A copy of the divorce court's Findings and Conclusions of Law and Judgment and Decree of Divorce has now been received and docketed. The divorce court concluded that all marital debts have been discharged in the parties' respective Chapter 7 cases. Accordingly, there are no debts left to address under § 523(a)(15), as had initially been contemplated in the Court's Interim Decision entered July 20, 2000. I will, therefore, enter an order dismissing this adversary proceeding.

While working on another case while this adversary proceeding was pending, the Court became enlightened on a particular point of law. As discussed in Arleaux v. Arleaux (In re Arleaux), 229 B.R. 182, 184-86 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 1999) (cites therein), a divorce-related claim does not come into existence until the divorce court enters a dispositive order. For bankruptcy cases, that means that even if a divorce is pending on the petition date, the bankruptcy discharge will not affect any division of debts or property between the spouses that may later be made when the divorce is finalized. Had the Court known then what it knows now, this adversary proceeding could have been dismissed much earlier. In practical application, however, theArleaux case reinforces what we probably already knew before: divorces should be finalized before one or both parties seek bankruptcy relief. Regardless of the chapter, administration of a bankruptcy case is difficult when a divorce is pending and may result in an incomplete resolution of debt obligations.