Frequently it makes sense for only one spouse to file bankruptcy. Where the husband has wracked up large business debts in his name only and the wife has significant separate property or sole management property, the husband can file bankruptcy without bringing the wife's non-joint assets into the estate. This allows a certain amount of double-dipping. The husband can claim his assets and the joint assets as exempt and the wife can keep her non-estate assets as well. While this will benefit the couple 99% of the time, two recent cases show a downside for the non-filing spouse.

The absolute assignment of rents was a trendy lender's argument during the 1980s. The lender could claim that its loan documents granted it ownership of the rents to be received by the debtor. The lender would magnanimously allow the debtor to use its rents so long as the debtor was not in default. However, upon default, the lender would take back "its" rents. Without ownership of the rents, the debtor would have nothing to fund a plan of reorganization with and thus no hope of reorganization.

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Failure to remit trust fund taxes is a common cause of bankruptcy and personal liability for the owners of a business. Far less common is the case of a bankruptcy trustee held responsible for the same violation. However, that is what happened in the case of Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts v. Liuzza, No. 09-50544 (5th Cir. 7/6/10). The opinion can be found here.