Debtors are frequently puzzled when they learn I need to send a notice of the filing of the bankruptcy case to their “ex.” They will get especially irritated if they happen to be current on their obligations. Emotions often run very high in those cases, and I try to explain it as diplomatically as possible.
PLEASE NOTE : YOU NEED TO SUPPLY THE NEEDED INFORMATION ABOUT ANY DSO TO YOUR ATTORNEY OR TO ME. IT MAY BE LISTED ON SCHEDULE E. I ALSO HAVE A FORM ON THIS WEBSITE, AND, THE BANKRUPTCY ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA HAS A FORM ON HER WEBSITE.
The requirement for these notices was added to a trustee’s responsibilities by Congress in the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act passed in 2005. Specifically, Section 704(c) requires two notices: (1) one following the filing of the case, and (2) a second notice following entry of discharge. The Code does not specify a time by which the notices are to be given, but generally I send them out within a few days after the Section 341 meeting is completed (unless there is a delay in my receiving the claimant’s address information), and within a few days of entry of discharge.
The First Notice
Sections 704(a)(10) and (c), 1202(b)(6) and (c), and 1302(b)(6) and (d) require trustees to provide written notices to domestic support obligation claim holders concerning their rights to payment in bankruptcy cases, their rights to use the collection services of the State child support enforcement agency of the State where they reside, and contact information for such agencies. These sections also require trustees to notify the State child support enforcement agency established under sections 464 and 466 of the Social Security Act for the State in which the claim holder resides and provide the agency with the claim holders’ contact information.
The Second Notice
The second notice is sent to DSO claimants and State child support enforcement agencies when the debtor’s discharge enters. The notice includes the last known addresses for the debtor and the debtor’s employer, as well as contact information for certain creditors whose claims were either reaffirmed or not discharged.
What happens when debtor does not have contact information?
This happens, not frequently, but more often than you might expect. People move around, remarry, etc., and often a debtor simply sends his or her DSO payment to a state agency. Sometimes, the parties don’t want the other to know their whereabouts. In any case, it is not my job to dig up the needed information. I think the debtor has an obligation to make a diligent effort to provide the claim holders address, and if unable to do so, my obligation ends.