i know someone who got divorced to declare ch.7. but he continued to live with his wife. is this fraud?

Not necessarily.  There is nothing that requires divorced people to live apart.  There are certain benefits and rights people get from being married, and those are lost once they get divorced.   The real question here is how did getting divorced benefit them or help this person file for Chapter 7? Did it reduce the total income?  If so, did they provide for the contributions made by his ex-wife (now his roommate)?  Just something to look at. Also, if they get remarried again right after the bankruptcy is completed, that would be some evidence of fraud.  I'm not sure how far that would get you though since people get divorced and then reconcile all the time. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.