Bankruptcy notice complicates house sale for divorced couple

Q. I got divorced a few years ago. My wife and I agreed she could stay in the house until our youngest child graduated high school. At that point, she had to sell or refinance and get me off the mortgage. This was important to me as I wanted to buy something and I couldn't do this until I was off the old mortgage.

Our youngest graduated last June. She kept asking me for a little more time until she could find somewhere to live and I have gone along with this. A couple weeks ago, I told her I couldn't wait any longer as I wanted to buy something before prices went up any further. I told her I wanted her to list the house now or I would go into court and ask that the judge order her to list.

Two days ago I received a Notice of Bankruptcy. I know she has had some credit card issues and it appears someone advised her to file bankruptcy.

My question is: Does this prevent me from going into divorce court and requesting that the judge order her to list the property? I've been told once someone files bankruptcy, you cannot go forward against that person in court. If this is the case, how long will I have to wait before she has to list and sell our old house?

A. I am not a bankruptcy expert. However, as a general rule, once a party files bankruptcy, certain protections are initiated for the benefit of the filing party. This is referred to as the automatic stay. Certainly, if she owed you money, you would be prevented from taking action to collect on the debt until such time as the automatic stay was lifted. Whether or not you could legally move forward in state court in demanding she comply with the terms of your divorce judgment may be somewhat of a gray area. I believe most bankruptcy attorneys would advise on the conservative side. This would mean filing a petition in bankruptcy court, requesting the court to lift the automatic stay for the specific purpose of allowing you to proceed to enforce the terms of your divorce.

I would suggest speaking to a bankruptcy attorney in regards to this issue.

Q. I have been renting a house for about 2½ years. The first year I had a written lease. Since then, I have not signed another lease, though the landlord has annually increased the rent.

Two days ago, the landlord told me he has sold the property and I must be out by Feb. 20. This has caught me totally by surprise and I have no idea where I'm going to move to. Even if I find a place, I don't know if it would be available that quickly.

I looked at the lease and it doesn't state that the landlord has to give me a certain amount of notice. Is there any kind of law that deals with this issue?

A. As a matter of fact, yes. Section 5/9-207 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure provides that in cases such as yours, the landlord must give you a minimum of 30 days notice prior to terminating a tenancy. And, presuming payments were due on the first of the month, the termination notice can only be effective on the last day of the month. In other words, notice given up to the 27th day of January cannot terminate a tenancy until Feb. 28. Notice given, say Feb. 4, cannot be effective until March 31.

Of course, you should have someone review your lease. Contact a real estate attorney specializing in Forcible Entry and Detainer for additional options or rights you may have.

• Send your questions to attorney Tom Resnick, 345 N. Quentin Road, Palatine, IL 60067, by email to tdr100@hotmail.com or call (847) 359-8983.