Answer to Question 1
The student knows that some action the debtor takes, whether innocent or fraudulent, may cause a particular debt or all debts to become nondischargeable prior to the conclusion of the bankruptcy case. The trustee may also, within one year of discharge or the closing of the case, request a revocation of discharge if this information gets revealed after the client obtains his or her discharge. The best course of action for the paralegal would be to remind the client of the above facts and to let his or her supervising attorney know about what the potential client has revealed, without delay
Answer to Question 2
The trustee may file an adversary proceeding against the debtor to ask the court to deny discharge or dismiss the case if the debtor has been uncooperative or dishonest with the trustee. However, generally, a creditor will initiate an action to determine nondischargeability of a particular debt most often. The types of debt for which a creditor will initiate such an action involve debt incurred by the alleged fraud, willful and/or malicious conduct, defalcation, or asset division by way of a divorce.
The party bringing the action is known as the plaintiff, and the party against whom the complaint is brought is referred to as the defendant. The plaintiff files a formal complaint with the court, and that complaint is served on the defendant. The bankruptcy court maintains the case under its own separate docket number known as an adversary number. This unique adversary number will be listed just below the docket number for the main bankruptcy case on any pleading concerning the adversary proceeding.