Another person who is jointly liable on a debt with you is known as a “codebtor”.  Unfortunately, a bankruptcy petition does not affect your codebtor’s obligation to repay the debt unless the codebtor has also received a discharge in bankruptcy.  In a Chapter 7 case, the creditor is free to pursue collection from the codebtor immediately. In a Chapter 13 case, however, the creditor may be prevented from collecting from the codebtor during the term of the Chapter 13 repayment plan.  If you file a Chapter 13 petition and the status of a codebtor is important to you, we will need to discuss the circumstance of the debt to determine the exposure to the codebtor.  It may be possible to put the debt in a special class to be paid in full to protect the codebtor from collection activities.