Priority Debts in a No-Asset Chapter 7 Case
Posted by Kevin on July 19, 2020 under Bankruptcy Blog | 
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Priority debts are largely unaffected by a Chapter 7 case—it does not discharge them, so you need to pay them after finishing your case.
Most Chapter 7 Cases Are No-Asset Cases
Chapter 7—“straight bankruptcy”—is the most common type of consumer bankruptcy case. They are generally the most straightforward, lasting about 4 months start to finish. Usually everything you own is protected by property exemptions. You discharge, or legally write off all or most of your debts. Secured debts like a home mortgage or vehicle loan are either retained or discharged. You either keep the collateral and pay for it, or surrender it and discharge the underlying debt. Bankruptcy does not discharge certain special debts like child/spousal support and recent income taxes.
A “no-asset” Chapter 7 case is one, as described above, in which everything you own is covered by property exemptions. So you keep everything you own (with the exception of collateral you decide to surrender). It’s called a no-asset case because your Chapter 7 trustee does not get any assets to liquidate and distribute to any of your creditors. A large majority of Chapter 7 cases are no-asset ones.
What Happens to Your Priority Debts in a No-Asset Chapter 7 Case?
Most debts that Chapter 7 does not discharge are what are called priority debts. These are simply categories of debts that Congress has decided should be treated with higher priority than other debts. In consumer cases the most common priority debts are child/spousal support and recent income taxes.
Priority debts generally get paid ahead of other debts in bankruptcy. This is true in an asset Chapter 7 case—where the trustee is liquidating a debtor’s assets. In fact, the trustee must pay a priority debt in full before paying regular (“general unsecured”) debts a penny!
But in a no-asset Chapter 7 case the trustee has no assets to liquidate. So he or she cannot pay any creditors anything, including any priority debts. So, essentially nothing happens to a not-dischargeable priority debt in a no-asset Chapter 7 case.
Dealing with Priority Debts During and After a Chapter 7 Case
However, one benefit you receive with some priority debts is the “automatic stay.” This stops (“stays”) the collection of debts immediately when you file a bankruptcy case. This “stay” generally lasts the approximately 4 months that a no-asset case is usually open. This no-collection period gives you time to make arrangements to pay a debt that is not going to get discharged. So you can start making payments either towards the end of your case or as soon as it’s closed. The hope is that you’ve discharged all or most of your other debts so that you can now afford to pay the not-discharged one(s).
The automatic stay applies to most debts, but there are exceptions. Child/spousal support is a major exception. Filing a Chapter 7 case does not stop the collection of support, either unpaid prior support or monthly ongoing support.
So, with nondischargeable priority debts that the automatic stay applies to, during your case you and/or your bankruptcy lawyer should make arrangements to begin paying that debt. With debts not covered by the automatic stay, you need to be prepared to deal with them immediately.
If neither of these make sense in your situation, consider filing a Chapter 13 case instead. TChapter 13 takes a lot longer—from 3 to 5 years usually. But if you have a lot of priority debt, it can help.
