I get this question on at least a weekly basis. My clients and perspective clients would sometimes like to leave a debt off their petition or don't want to discharge it so want to leave it out. Sometimes its out of an obligation to the creditor (like a doctor or local business) or sometimes they may be embarrassed and don't want their bankruptcy publicly known. The short answer I give them: You must disclose it all.
When you sign your Chapter 7 petition you declare under the penalty of perjury that you have listed accurate data and that you have disclosed all your debts. The bankruptcy code does not allow one to pick and choose what debts to list down and be noticed about your bankruptcy filing. You simply must poor everything out.
All hope is not lost however. There are strategies that you can employ that can address the concerns noted above. Sometimes you can enter into reaffirmation agreements so that the creditor is repaid; sometimes the notice of the bankruptcy can be sent to an agent and not directly to the creditor. If this is a concern then its always a good idea to have a sit down with a knowledgeable bankruptcy lawyer in Oregon and see what we might be able to do for you; just don't ask us to leave out creditors...It wont happen.
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life; it goes on..."
