Any bankruptcy attorneys in here?

I am a bankruptcy attorney in South Dakota.  Bankruptcy law is more the most part federal but every state can opt out of some of the federal laws so there is some state flavor from state to state.  So my answer only is good as it relates to federal law with a South Dakota slant.

To answer your question it really does depend if she is filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  The reason is that in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy you will likely get nothing unless (1) she is over her state/federal exemption limits and the Trustee seizes property to distribution to the creditors on a pro-rata basis... you will know if that is the case because you will get a notice requesting that you file a Proof of Claim; or (2) you file a Complaint Objecting to her Dischargibility.  You will notice that the Notice of Commencement of Case (the document that gave you notice of the bankruptcy to begin with) advises you of the last day to object.  You have to file your Complaint and pay the filing fee ($250.00) on or before that deadline or you are out of luck.  You Complaint is going to have to show that she either procedure the monies from you by fraud or that your written contract specifically stated that she isn't filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy (again a fraud angle).  These are generally hard to prove and every state has different elements (South Dakota has the seven badges of fraud).  Typically you will not prevail on this.  Additionally, in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if the Court doesn't find that the debt isn't dischargible (because you filed you Complaint and it was sustained) then you can never force her to pay you a dime.  If she pays you anything great but otherwise you would be held in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and she could sue you if you try to collect on a discharged debt so proceed with caution.

Now on the other hand if this is a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that is a bird of a different feather.  In this case the goal is for the debtor to propose a plan that pays back all creditors her disposible earnings each month (after Trustee gets his/her commission and Debtor gets their attorneys fees) on a pro-rata basis over the next three to five years (the amount of years depends on many factors which I will not get into here).  Bottom line is with the Notice of Commencement of  Case you would have recieved a notice advising you to file a Proof of Claim and you would get paid based on this Proof of Claim.

Again the answer really depends on those factors.  I would recommend that you go talk to a bankruptcy attorney in your jurisdiction regarding these issues but at least the above will give you a start and some background.  BOL!