Debtors’ rights, as well as their responsibilities, can be affected by the various deadlines that are present during a bankruptcy case. To protect their rights to object in certain cases, the duty of understanding and acting on the deadlines lies on the creditors. If a creditor fails to heed the deadlines, there can be major damaging effects to the creditor.
Many important deadlines that apply to creditors can be found in the “Notice of Commencement of Case.” This notice is typically mailed to the addresses of all the listed creditors in a case right after a filing. If a creditor has not received a copy of the notice, the creditor must immediately contact the debtor’s lawyer to request it. It can also be obtained by contacting the court clerk and by acquiring a copy from the records of the court.
It is important to heed the various deadlines in order to make sure that a creditor does not lose what is due to them or violate debtor protections and other rules. One such deadline is the filing proof of claims deadline, which is mentioned in the notice of commencement of the case. There is also a deadline for filing in order to determine if the debts are dischargeable.
Objection complaints to discharge of debt granted to the debtor may be filed by the creditor who is meeting such a deadline. If a creditor is of the opinion that debtor is not entitled to a discharge, the onus is on the creditor to initiate a lawsuit by filing a complaint within the deadline. There is also a deadline for objecting to exemptions allowed to the debtor.
Source: USCourts.gov, “Important Deadline Information for Creditors,” Accessed on Nov.13, 2014
