Personal Bankruptcy Discharging NSF Checks

[need2know]

Can NSF checks be discharged with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy? (The company will be on my list of creditors, but they have sent two checks to the district attorney's office.)

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Can NSF checks be discharged with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy? (The company will be on my list of creditors, but they have sent two checks to the district attorney's office.)

My understanding is that NSF checks are a criminal offense and are not subject to discharge using Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

 

[scrunk]

Don't know where lawprofessor teaches, but he's wrong.

NSF checks do carry a potential criminal charge that won't be touched by bankruptcy, however, the actual debt is dischargeable. Most states have statutes of limitations on NSF. In most states, NSF checks are misdemeanors and the statute of limitations to file the criminal charge will expire after 1 year.

Bankruptcy can discharge the debt owed.

 

[Malibu_Barbie]

Actually, Scrunk, you are wrong, and LawProfessor is correct. So many people make the mistake of relying on unsubstantiated articles they find on the internet. When it comes to the law, you really need to go to the source directly ... the code, statutes and case law. (BTW, I saw absolutely nothing in that link you provided that specifically states bad checks are dischargeable anyway.)

If the Bankruptcy Court finds that the bad check was written under a false pretense, false representation or on the basis of actual fraud, then NO, the debt is not dischargeable. There are several factors that the Court considers in basing its decision on the dischargeability of any debts, and bad-check issues are highly scrutinized in this analysis.

The actual law on this can be found at 11 USC § 523