Can a Joint Mortgage Be Included in an Single Individual’s Personal Bankruptcy Filing?

A joint mortgage (a mortgage signed for by two or more parties) can be included in an individual’s personal bankruptcy filing. But an individual filing of Bankruptcy does not discharge the mortgage debt for all parties.

If the mortgage debt included in the filing and upon being granted by the Bankruptcy Court, the bankruptcy discharge will eliminate an individual filer’s obligation on that mortgage debt — but not the obligation of a spouse, an ex-spouse or any other person listed as a signator the mortgage.

Only if the other signator files his or her own bankruptcy petition can he or she influence an obligation to the mortgage holder.

For details on properly filing a personal bankruptcy petition, see Standard Legal’s Bankruptcy legal forms software page.