Can a bankruptcy debtor get rid of a lien on the house she owns wither husband, if the lien is tied to a debt incurred only in the husband’s name? No, says Massachusetts bankruptcy judge Janet Bostwick in the Hector case.
There, the wife re-opened her Chapter 7 bankruptcy when she learned that a lien had been placed on the property for an old gas bill. But the utility bill was issued only in her husband’s name. However, since it affected jointly held property (the couple’s house), she reasoned that it could be “avoided” (that is, eliminated) by filing a simple motion in the case once it was re-opened.
No dice said Judge Bostwick: in Massachusetts and most other places married couples can contract debts in their individual names as well as together, and individual debts are the sole responsibility of the spouse who is named. There is no legal obligation of the other spouse to pay such a debt, so the gas bill did not really impact her. Because of this the lien was ruled to apply only to the husband’s interest in the property, and since he didn’t file for bankruptcy, the wife could not wipe it out in her own case.