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expiration of the 60-day period for objection. Fed. R. Bankr. P.
4004(c)(1).
Under Bankruptcy Code section 523(a), not all debts may be
discharged, and often a discharge order of the bankruptcy court
will not state which particular debts are discharged and which
are not discharged (see Bankruptcy Official Form 18, Discharge of
Debtor). Generally, however, if a discharge order is issued by
the bankruptcy court in a chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding, a debt
will be discharged unless it is excepted from discharge.4
Herein, the March 17, 1998, bankruptcy court discharge order
issued in petitioners’ favor did not state which of petitioners’
debts were to be treated as discharged and which of petitioners’
debts were to be treated as excepted from discharge.
Whether a liability of a debtor in bankruptcy to pay Federal
income taxes is discharged by a chapter 7 bankruptcy court
discharge order does not depend on whether the particular
discharge order expressly states that the tax liability is
discharged, but rather depends on whether the particular Federal
income taxes owed to respondent are to be excepted from discharge
4 In 11 U.S.C. (Bankruptcy Code) secs. 522 and 523,
“excepted” and “exempt” are used as terms of art. Generally,
“excepted” refers to debts of the debtor in bankruptcy that are
subject to creditor claims and not discharged under the
provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, whereas “exempt” refers to
property included in the bankruptcy estate but not subject to
creditors’ claims.
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Last modified: March 27, 2008