Once a debtor is discharged they no longer have a personal liability to repay the debts they had before they were made bankrupt, although there are exceptions to this.
A debtor is still personally responsible for:
- student loans;
- fines, penalties, compensation and forfeiture orders imposed by any sheriff;
- any liability incurred as a result of fraud or breach of trust on the debtors part;
- any liability to forfeiture of bail;
- any obligation to pay aliment; and
- any periodical payment ordered by the sheriff to the ex-spouse of the debtor.
The pre-bankruptcy creditors, except those above, will not be able to take any legal action against the debtor to recover their debts. However, the debts still exist and the debtor is still responsible for paying any contributions agreed with the trustee.
A creditor can still take action against anyone else, for example the debtor's spouse, who had a joint liability for the debt.
A debtor is also still responsible for making payments to any secured creditor, for example, for the mortgage on their house.
A debtor is also responsible for repaying any debts which they have run up after they were made bankrupt along with any ongoing liabilities such as rent, council tax, gas, electricity and telephone bills.
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