West Palm Beach Bankruptcy Blog

Collection Actions Not Stopped by an Automatic Stay

Although many collection actions are stopped by an automatic stay, the following are not:

1. Almost all legal proceedings pertaining to divorce or parenting including actions to:
   • Set and collect current child support and alimony.
   • Establish paternity in a lawsuit.
   • Determine child custody and visitation.
   • Collect back child support and alimony from property that is not in the bankruptcy estate.
   • Suspend a parent’s driver’s license in order to force him to pay child support.
   • Modify child support and alimony.
   • Withhold income to collect child support.
   • Protect a spouse or child from domestic violence.
   • Seize tax refunds to pay back child support.
   • Report overdue child support to credit bureaus.
2. The automatic stay does not prevent withholding from a debtor’s income to repay a loan from most job-related pensions and individual retirement accounts.
3. The Internal Revenue Service can continue to do such things as issue a tax deficiency notice, demand a tax return, issue a tax assessment, demand payment of an assessment, and conduct a tax audit.
4. A landlord has the right to evict a tenant despite the automatic stay if:
   • The landlord obtained a judgment for possession of the rented property before the tenant filed for bankruptcy, or
   • The landlord is evicting the tenant for endangering the property, or
   • The landlord is evicting the tenant for illegally using controlled substances on the property.