Plaintiff filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. She then filed an adversary proceeding seeking a determination that  a debt owed to Defendant under a divorce settlement agreement was dischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(15) and 1328(a). Plaintiff served Defendant with the complaint, but the defendant did not respond. Plaintiff moved for a default to be entered.

The Court began its analysis by noting that there are three elements to a claim under section 523(a)(15): (1) the debt in question must be to a spouse, former spouse or child of the debtor; (2) the debt is not a “support obligation” that would fall within the scope of section 523(a)(5); and (3) the debt was incurred in a separation agreement, divorce decree or other court order. 4 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 523.23 (Alan N. Resnick & Henry J. Sommer, eds., 16th ed.). The effect of section 523(a)(15) is “to make all divorce-related obligations subject to a presumption of nondischargeability.”

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