Am I required to continue paying my debts until I receive a discharge?
The Automatic Stay (defined in the glossary) stops all collection activity immediately upon filing a bankrutpcy case in almost every instance. Thus, a debtor can stop paying all dischargeable debts that he/she does not intend to reaffirm (such as an automobile loan on a car that the debtor wants to retain). Thus, once the case is filed a debtor does not have to pay the typical unsecured debts as credit card debt, medical bills and signature loans to keep the creditor from collecting the debt.
However, if a debtor does want to keep a particular debt such as the house mortgage or auto loan and he/she intends to reaffirm that loan, then the debtor should continue making payments in a chapter 7 case. In a chapter 13, 12 or 11 case, the plan filed by the debtor’s attorney will set out how the house mortgage or auto loan will be paid.