Can a person declare bankruptcy against another person before they get a judgement against them.

Yes you can declare chapter 7 bankruptcy or chapter 13 bankruptcy and include the debt of another person prior to that person receiving a judgment against you. Simply include the amount that they are attempting to sue you for, even if a lawsuit has been initiated and that debt will be discharge when you receive your discharge. Furthermore filing for bankruptcy prior to receiving a judgment, we you will take advantage of the automatic stay, which. All of the proceedings of the lawsuit. This means is that they will not be able to seek legal fees from you or any interest on the debt, once you receive a discharge the amount you are being sued for will no longer be a legal obligation for you to pay. If for some reason afterwards the attorney working on the lawsuit waits until after your bankruptcy has been discharged to attempt to collect legal fees from you based on this, you can simply reopen your bankruptcy include those additional attorney's fees as they are part of the previously discharged debt and you will not have to pay for those legal fees either. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147