Even though Bankruptcy is filed in Federal court whereas divorce cases are filed in state court, you can get a divorce while you are in the process of a personal bankruptcy case. However, when an individual or couple files for bankruptcy, they are automatically surrounded by a ‘protective bubble’ that halts all pending legal actions and prevents any new legal actions from starting. This is known as the Automatic Stay. The parties can agree to have the Automatic Stay lifted so that the divorce case can move forward. If one or both parties does not consent to lifting the automatic stay, the divorce case may be stalled while waiting for the bankruptcy case to conclude. In the case of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, this may only delay the divorce process by several months. However, if one or both parties file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy the divorce could be stalled for years. It is possible to request that the Bankruptcy Court lift the Automatic Stay over the objection of the debtor spouse so that the divorce can continue.