Complaint Objecting to Chapter 7 Discharge

Summary

This template complaint is for use by an attorney representing a party objecting to the discharge of a Chapter 7 debtor. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate and optional clauses. Section 727(a) requires the bankruptcy court to grant an individual debtor a discharge unless there are grounds to deny it. 11 U.S.C. § 727(a). Section 727(a) lists 12 grounds that serve as a basis for the denial of a general Chapter 7 discharge. If one of these grounds exists and is timely asserted, the debtor is denied a discharge of all debts. A debtor may be denied a discharge if, among others, the debtor fraudulently concealed property, made a false oath in its bankruptcy documents, or failed to preserve its records. The Chapter 7 trustee, the U.S. Trustee, or any creditor of the debtor may object to the discharge of the debtor. 11 U.S.C. § 727(c)(1). Most objections to discharge are commenced by adversary proceeding. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4004(d), 7001(4). The objecting party must file a complaint objecting to the discharge of the debtor within 60 days of the date first set for the Section 341(a) meeting of creditors. The filing of a complaint objecting to discharge initiates a separate adversary proceeding with its own discovery track and trial. Objections to discharge under Sections 727(a)(8) or (9) can be made by motion rather than adversary proceeding. See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9014. For templates to object to discharge on that basis, see Motion Objecting to Discharge (11 U.S.C. §§ 727(a)(8), 727(a)(9)) and Order Granting Motion Objecting to Discharge (11 U.S.C. §§ 727(a)(8), 727(a)(9)). For additional discharge content, see Bankruptcy Discharge Resource Kit. For additional Chapter 7 content, see Individual Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Resource Kit. For more information, see Chapter 7 Liquidation, Discharge and Exceptions to Discharge in Individual Cases, and Counseling a Consumer Client about Bankruptcy. For additional consumer bankruptcy resources, see Consumer Bankruptcy Resource Kit. For your planning purposes, note that the defendant in a bankruptcy adversary proceeding must in general file an answer or other responsive papers within 30 days after issuance of the summons. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7012(a)(1).