A creditor sued me in bankruptcy court. What is that?

It is almost certainly an adversary proceeding, a lawsuit filed inside your bankruptcy case. Under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007, a debtor or any creditor may file a complaint to determine whether a debt is dischargeable, and Rule 4007(e) applies the Part VII litigation rules to it. It has its own case number, its own deadlines, and its own outcome, separate from your main case.

What is the deadline for a creditor to object to the discharge of a debt?

For debts covered by § 523(c), the complaint must be filed within 60 days after the first date set for the § 341(a) meeting of creditors (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(c)). The clerk must give creditors at least 30 days' notice of that time. On a motion filed before the time expires, the court may extend it for cause after notice and a hearing.

What happens if the creditor misses the deadline?

Rule 4007(c) sets a fixed period for § 523(c) complaints, and an extension generally has to be requested before the time expires. Several local rules say the same thing directly, requiring an extension motion to be filed before the original deadline has run (Bankr. D.S.D. R. 4007-1). A court's Chapter 7 discharge checklist also confirms no discharge is entered while such a complaint or motion is pending (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Procedure Manual — Discharge - Chapter 7).

Are student loans and support obligations handled the same way?

No. The advisory committee note to Rule 4007 places § 523(a)(5) and (a)(8) among the categories with no filing deadline, so a creditor does not need to sue to preserve them. One court's public guide explains that some debts, such as child support and spousal maintenance, are automatically nondischargeable, while student loan debt is nondischargeable unless the debtor files an adversary proceeding and proves undue hardship (U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter).

Is this the same as an objection to my entire discharge?

No, and the difference is large. An objection under § 523 targets one debt; an objection under § 727(a) asks the court to deny a discharge in the case altogether. One court notes that a motion objecting to discharge is used only for the prior-filing timing grounds, and that any other basis must be brought by adversary proceeding (Bankr. S.D. Ind. official page — Motion Objecting to Discharge).

Can the two sides settle a dischargeability case?

Yes, and many are resolved without a trial, but courts supervise the terms. In the Southern District of New York, no adversary proceeding to determine dischargeability may be settled except by court order after inquiry into any agreement between debtor and creditor relating to payment of the debt (S.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-2). Other districts require an affidavit setting out the settlement terms before dismissal (E.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-1).

Does my Chapter 13 case treat these debts differently?

It can. Section 1328(a) grants a discharge on completion of plan payments of all debts provided for by the plan, except the categories it lists, which include specified paragraphs of § 523(a). That enumerated list is narrower than the full § 523(a) set that applies in Chapter 7, so a completed Chapter 13 discharge reaches some debts a Chapter 7 discharge does not.

Debts & discharge

Objections to the Discharge of a Specific Debt: What a § 523 Complaint Means

A creditor who believes one specific debt should survive bankruptcy must usually file a complaint in the bankruptcy court asking the judge to declare that debt nondischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a). For the fraud, embezzlement, and willful-injury categories covered by § 523(c), that complaint is due within 60 days after the first date set for the § 341(a) meeting of creditors.

Key points

A creditor objecting to one debt files a complaint under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a), which starts an adversary proceeding inside your existing bankruptcy case.
For the § 523(c) categories, the complaint must be filed within 60 days after the first date set for the § 341(a) meeting of creditors (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(c)).
Some debts need no complaint at all, and Rule 4007(b) lets those dischargeability questions be raised at any time.
An objection to one debt under § 523 is a different proceeding from an objection to your entire discharge under § 727.
Districts add their own rules on extensions, on naming the exact subsection, and on disclosing the terms of any settlement.

If a creditor has filed papers asking the court to keep one debt alive, that is a dischargeability dispute, not an attack on your whole case. It is a real lawsuit with a real deadline, and that deadline generally runs from the date first set for your meeting of creditors. Knowing which subsection the creditor is relying on tells you most of what you need to know about what happens next.

How does an objection to one debt actually work?

An objection to a single debt is a lawsuit filed inside your bankruptcy case. The creditor files a complaint asking the judge to rule that a particular debt falls within one of the exceptions listed in 11 U.S.C. § 523(a), so that personal liability for it survives the case. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(a) says a debtor or any creditor may file that complaint, and Rule 4007(e) applies the Part VII adversary rules to the proceeding. In practice that means a complaint, a written response from you, discovery, settlement discussions, and a trial before the bankruptcy judge if the parties do not resolve it. The rest of your case generally continues in parallel. The advisory committee note to Rule 4007 explains that the court need not decide the issues raised by the complaint until the separate question of your general discharge has been determined under Rule 4004.

What changes the answer here?

Which subsection the creditor invokes changes almost everything about timing and burden. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(b) allows a dischargeability complaint to be filed at any time except one under § 523(c), and the advisory committee note to that rule identifies the categories carrying no time limit: § 523(a)(1), (3), (5), (7), (8) and (9). Those cover ground such as certain taxes, unlisted debts, domestic support obligations, fines, and educational loans. The categories that carry the 60-day clock are the creditor-driven ones. One bankruptcy court's public FAQ describes them as obligations incurred as the result of fraud, embezzlement, or willful injury, which may be excepted from discharge only if the creditor successfully brings a nondischargeability action (Bankr. N.D. Iowa official page — FAQs: Debtor).

Whether the debt falls under § 523(c), which is what puts the complaint on a deadline (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(b), (c)).
Whether the creditor is targeting one debt under § 523 or your entire discharge under § 727.
Which chapter you filed: in a completed Chapter 13 case, § 1328(a) lists the § 523(a) exceptions that survive, and that list is narrower than the Chapter 7 set.
Whether a party in interest moved to extend the deadline before it expired (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(c)).

What does federal law say about nondischargeable debts?

Section 523(a) is the list. It states that a discharge under § 727, § 1141, § 1192, § 1228 or § 1328(b) does not discharge an individual debtor from the debts it enumerates, including certain taxes and customs duties and money or property obtained by false pretenses, false representation, or actual fraud. Section 524 explains what a discharge does where it applies: it voids judgments determining personal liability on a discharged debt and operates as an injunction against acts to collect that debt from the debtor. Section 727(a) is separate and much broader, listing grounds on which a court may decline to grant any discharge at all. One court's guide puts the distinction plainly: some exceptions in § 523 are self-executing, while others must be raised through an adversary proceeding (Bankr. C.D. Ill. official guidance — ILCB Guide to Practice & Procedures (December 1, 2025)).

Two different objections, often confused
Question	Objection to one debt (§ 523)	Objection to the whole discharge (§ 727)
What it asks the court to do	Declare that one specific debt is excepted from discharge	Decline to grant a discharge at all
Where the grounds come from	11 U.S.C. § 523(a)	11 U.S.C. § 727(a)
Deadline in a Chapter 7 case	60 days after the first date set for the § 341(a) meeting, for § 523(c) debts (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(c))	60 days after the first date set for the § 341(a) meeting (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4004(a)(1))
How it is commenced	Complaint, governed by the Part VII adversary rules (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(e))	Complaint, except a motion under § 727(a)(8) or (9) (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4004(a)(1))
Practical scope if the objector prevails	That one debt is unaffected by the discharge	No debts are discharged in that case

Where do local court rules change the procedure?

Federal law sets the grounds and the deadline; individual districts add procedure, and those rules are worth reading. Some control how the complaint is drafted: in South Dakota, a complaint to determine the dischargeability of a particular debt must specify the subsection of § 523(a) relied on, and must state whether relief is sought under (a)(2)(A) or (a)(2)(B) (Bankr. D.S.D. R. 7001-2). Others control extensions. A motion to extend the § 523(c) deadline must be filed before the original deadline expires and must demonstrate cause (Bankr. D.S.D. R. 4007-1), must state the existing deadline and the specific date requested (E.D. Tex. LBR 4007-1), and in one district draws a fourteen-day objection window (N.D. Ind. L.B.R. B-4004-1). Settlements are regulated too: a dischargeability proceeding may be settled only by court order after inquiry into the terms (S.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-2). We do not publish a verified summary of every district's local rules, so check your own court's.

State law often supplies the underlying claim, but whether a debt is excepted from discharge is decided under federal law in the bankruptcy court.
Withdrawal of a complaint objecting to discharge can require an affidavit that no consideration was given for the withdrawal (E.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-1).
Find your district and its local rules through the court finder.

What does this look like in practice?

The most common version involves a credit card. A cardholder makes charges or takes cash advances in the weeks before filing. The issuer reviews the schedules and statement of financial affairs, sees recent activity, and files a complaint under § 523(a)(2) alleging the debt was obtained by false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud. The Code gives that creditor a narrow presumption: consumer debts owed to a single creditor above a statutory threshold for luxury goods or services incurred on or within 90 days before the order for relief are presumed nondischargeable, as are cash advances above a stated amount obtained on or within 70 days before it (11 U.S.C. § 523). Many of these disputes end in a negotiated resolution rather than a trial, which is why several districts require the parties to disclose the terms of any agreement before the court will approve a dismissal (E.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-1; S.D. Cal. LBR 7041-3).

What documents and information are involved?

Most of the record already exists somewhere in your file. The complaint itself matters most, because some districts require it to name the exact subsection of § 523(a), which tells you what the creditor has to prove (Bankr. D.S.D. R. 7001-2). From there the papers commonly in play are listed below. Note that any correction to your schedules is filed by amendment, signed under penalty of perjury (Bankr. N.D. Iowa official page — FAQs: Debtor), so accuracy in the original filing matters well beyond the day you sign it.

Your petition, schedules, and statement of financial affairs.
Account statements and transaction history for the period the creditor is questioning.
Any written application or financial statement you gave the creditor, since § 523(a)(2)(B) turns on a statement in writing respecting your financial condition that the creditor reasonably relied on.
Your testimony at the § 341(a) meeting of creditors.
Records showing what the money, property, or services were actually used for.
The docket entries showing the deadline set by the clerk and any motion to extend it.

What should you ask a lawyer about this?

A dischargeability complaint is litigation, and the questions worth asking are narrow and concrete. Bring the complaint and the summons with you, along with the notice the clerk sent setting the deadline, because Rule 4007(c) requires creditors to receive at least 30 days' notice of the time to file and that notice is usually in your case file. Legal aid organizations and consultations vary in what they can take on, and an adversary proceeding is a bigger commitment than a routine case. Asking early is generally better than asking after a response deadline has passed.

Which subsection of § 523(a) is being used, and what the creditor has to prove under it?
When is my written response due, and what happens procedurally if it is not filed?
Is this an objection to one debt or to my whole discharge under § 727?
Does the deadline in my case appear correctly on the docket, and was any extension sought?
What would a negotiated resolution look like here, and what has to be disclosed to the court?
If I filed under Chapter 13, does § 1328(a) treat this category differently at completion?

Frequently asked questions

A creditor sued me in bankruptcy court. What is that?: It is almost certainly an adversary proceeding, a lawsuit filed inside your bankruptcy case. Under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007, a debtor or any creditor may file a complaint to determine whether a debt is dischargeable, and Rule 4007(e) applies the Part VII litigation rules to it. It has its own case number, its own deadlines, and its own outcome, separate from your main case.
What is the deadline for a creditor to object to the discharge of a debt?: For debts covered by § 523(c), the complaint must be filed within 60 days after the first date set for the § 341(a) meeting of creditors (Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(c)). The clerk must give creditors at least 30 days' notice of that time. On a motion filed before the time expires, the court may extend it for cause after notice and a hearing.
What happens if the creditor misses the deadline?: Rule 4007(c) sets a fixed period for § 523(c) complaints, and an extension generally has to be requested before the time expires. Several local rules say the same thing directly, requiring an extension motion to be filed before the original deadline has run (Bankr. D.S.D. R. 4007-1). A court's Chapter 7 discharge checklist also confirms no discharge is entered while such a complaint or motion is pending (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Procedure Manual — Discharge - Chapter 7).
Are student loans and support obligations handled the same way?: No. The advisory committee note to Rule 4007 places § 523(a)(5) and (a)(8) among the categories with no filing deadline, so a creditor does not need to sue to preserve them. One court's public guide explains that some debts, such as child support and spousal maintenance, are automatically nondischargeable, while student loan debt is nondischargeable unless the debtor files an adversary proceeding and proves undue hardship (U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter).
Is this the same as an objection to my entire discharge?: No, and the difference is large. An objection under § 523 targets one debt; an objection under § 727(a) asks the court to deny a discharge in the case altogether. One court notes that a motion objecting to discharge is used only for the prior-filing timing grounds, and that any other basis must be brought by adversary proceeding (Bankr. S.D. Ind. official page — Motion Objecting to Discharge).
Can the two sides settle a dischargeability case?: Yes, and many are resolved without a trial, but courts supervise the terms. In the Southern District of New York, no adversary proceeding to determine dischargeability may be settled except by court order after inquiry into any agreement between debtor and creditor relating to payment of the debt (S.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-2). Other districts require an affidavit setting out the settlement terms before dismissal (E.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-1).
Does my Chapter 13 case treat these debts differently?: It can. Section 1328(a) grants a discharge on completion of plan payments of all debts provided for by the plan, except the categories it lists, which include specified paragraphs of § 523(a). That enumerated list is narrower than the full § 523(a) set that applies in Chapter 7, so a completed Chapter 13 discharge reaches some debts a Chapter 7 discharge does not.

Sources

11 U.S.C. § 523 — Exceptions to discharge · official source
11 U.S.C. § 524 — Effect of discharge · official source
11 U.S.C. § 727 — Discharge · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1328 — Discharge (Chapter 13) · official source
Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007 — Determining Whether a Debt Is Dischargeable · official source
Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4004 — Granting or Denying a Discharge · official source
Bankr. D.S.D. R. 7001-2 — Adversary Complaints: Required Content
Bankr. D.S.D. R. 4007-1 — Extension of Time to File a Dischargeability Complaint
E.D. Tex. LBR 4007-1 — Determination of Dischargeability of a Debt
N.D. Ind. L.B.R. B-4004-1 — Extensions of Time for Filing Discharge Objections and Dischargeability Complaints
S.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-2 — Withdrawal or Settlement of Proceedings to Determine Discharge and Dischargeability
E.D.N.Y. LBR 4007-1 — Withdrawal or Settlement of Proceedings to Determine Discharge and Dischargeability
S.D. Cal. LBR 7041-3 — Dismissal of Objections to Discharge of the Debtor
Bankr. C.D. Ill. official guidance — ILCB Guide to Practice & Procedures (December 1, 2025)
Bankr. S.D. Ind. official page — Motion Objecting to Discharge
Bankr. N.D. Iowa official page — FAQs: Debtor
Bankr. M.D. Fla. Procedure Manual — Discharge - Chapter 7
U.S. Bankr. Ct. D. Ariz., Choosing Your Chapter: What can Bankruptcy do for you? What will it do to you?

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Sources verified July 28, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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