In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the moment to stop paying creditors is the day your petition is filed with the court. Filing triggers the automatic stay, a federal injunction that immediately blocks collection on debts that will be discharged. But the answer is only that clean for unsecured debts you want gone. Secured loans on property you want to keep, child support, recent tax debt, and most student loans still need to be paid, and stopping the wrong payment at the wrong time can cost you the car, the house, or the discharge itself.
Filing Is the Trigger, Not the Decision to File
The automatic stay takes effect the instant your petition reaches the court clerk. Under federal law, filing operates as an immediate injunction barring creditors from collecting debts, filing or continuing lawsuits, garnishing wages, repossessing vehicles, or foreclosing on homes.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay No hearing. No creditor consent. Before the petition is filed, none of this protection exists, so the gap between deciding to file and actually filing is not a safe zone.
The stay remains in place until your debts are discharged or the case is dismissed, roughly three to four months in a straightforward case. Two limits worth knowing up front: you cannot get a Chapter 7 discharge if you received one within the past eight years,2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 727 – Discharge and if you had a bankruptcy case dismissed within the past year, the automatic stay may last only 30 days or may not take effect at all.
Debts You Can Stop Paying on Filing Day
Once the stay is active, stop paying unsecured debts that will be discharged. Unsecured means the debt is not backed by collateral. That covers credit card balances, medical bills, personal loans, payday loans, past-due utility charges, and collection accounts. Deficiency balances left over after a repossession or foreclosure and most civil court judgments fall in the same bucket.3United States Courts. Discharge in Bankruptcy – Bankruptcy Basics
Eliminating these obligations is the point of Chapter 7. Continuing to pay them after filing wastes money you need for living expenses and for the debts that will not be discharged.
Debts You Must Keep Paying
Several categories of debt survive a Chapter 7 discharge. The automatic stay pauses collection while your case is open, but the debt is still there when the case closes. Keep paying, or expect to catch up with interest and penalties later.
- Child support and alimony. Domestic support obligations are the highest priority in bankruptcy and cannot be discharged.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
- Most student loans. Student loan debt is not automatically discharged. You can seek a discharge by filing a separate adversary proceeding and proving that repayment would cause undue hardship. The Department of Education has acknowledged that borrowers were historically deterred from trying, and recent guidance encourages a less adversarial approach, but the process still requires a lawsuit within your bankruptcy case.5U.S. Department of Education FSA Partners. Undue Hardship Discharge of Title IV Loans in Bankruptcy Adversary Proceedings
- Recent income taxes. Income taxes are generally non-dischargeable if the return was due within the past three years, if a late return was filed within the past two years, or if the tax was assessed within 240 days before filing. Older taxes that clear all three timing rules may be dischargeable.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 507 – Priorities
- Debts from fraud or intentional harm. Money obtained through false pretenses, debts from willful injury, and personal injury debts caused by drunk driving all survive bankruptcy.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
- Government fines and criminal restitution. Most penalties owed to government entities and court-ordered restitution cannot be discharged.
Secured Loans: Do Not Stop If You Want the Property
Car loans, mortgages, and other debts tied to collateral work differently. The automatic stay temporarily halts repossession and foreclosure, but it does not erase the creditor’s lien. Within 30 days of filing, or before your meeting of creditors if that comes first, you must file a statement of intention telling the court and each secured creditor what you plan to do with the property.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 521 – Debtor’s Duties
You have three options. Reaffirmation is a voluntary agreement to keep paying the debt; you keep the property and the debt survives your discharge. A judge can reject the agreement if it looks unaffordable.8United States Courts. Instructions for Reaffirmation Documents Redemption lets you pay the creditor the property’s current market value in a single lump sum, regardless of what you still owe; it applies only to tangible personal property for household use, not real estate.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 722 – Redemption Surrender means returning the property; any remaining balance is discharged with your other unsecured debts.
The practical rule: if you want to keep your house or car, keep making the regular payments after filing. Missing payments during bankruptcy gives the lender grounds to ask the court to lift the stay and proceed with repossession or foreclosure.
Co-Signed Debts Are Not Covered
Your bankruptcy protects you, not anyone who signed with you. The Chapter 7 automatic stay shields only the person who filed. A co-debtor stay exists in Chapter 13, but there is no equivalent in Chapter 7.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1301 – Stay of Action Against Codebtor The day you file, creditors can turn to your co-signer for the full balance. Have that conversation before you file, not after.
Utilities Do Not Automatically Get Cut Off, But You Have to Act
Filing Chapter 7 does not shut off your electricity, water, or gas. Federal law bars utility companies from stopping service solely because you filed or because you owe them money from before the filing date.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 366 – Utility Service The catch: within 20 days of filing you have to provide adequate assurance of future payment, typically a deposit. If you do not, the utility can discontinue service. Pre-filing utility arrears are treated like any other unsecured debt and can be discharged, but current bills going forward are yours.
The Weeks Before Filing Are the Riskiest
Because the automatic stay does not exist until the petition is filed, creditors can still call, sue, garnish wages, and repossess property in the run-up. Some people stop paying dischargeable debts a few months early to save cash for attorney fees and the filing fee. That is common and not itself a problem; inability to pay is presumably why you are filing.
What creates trouble is new borrowing in the same window. Federal law creates two presumptions of fraud for pre-filing spending. Luxury purchases over $900 from a single creditor within 90 days of filing are presumed non-dischargeable. Cash advances over $1,250 within 70 days of filing carry the same presumption. Both thresholds are effective through March 2028.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge “Luxury” here means anything not reasonably necessary for your support; groceries and medicine are fine, a vacation or a new television is not. The presumption can be rebutted, but the burden shifts to you. The simpler course is not to take on new debt once you have decided to file.
If a Creditor Keeps Calling After You File
The court sends notice to creditors after you file, but it can take several days to arrive. Debt buyers who own old accounts may not get the message promptly. When a creditor contacts you, give them your case number, filing date, and your attorney’s information. That is usually enough.
If a creditor knowingly continues collection after learning about your bankruptcy, they are violating the automatic stay. Federal law allows you to recover actual damages, including attorney fees and costs, for any willful violation, and courts can award punitive damages in egregious cases.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay Save voicemails, letters, and screenshots, and report the contact to your attorney or the court.