10/07
Can I keep my car?
Usually you can keep your car. Sometimes several cars.
If you are current -- and keep current -- on payments and have less than $3,000 equity in your car, you should be able to keep it. (If you and your wife on the car or cars, you c an protect up to $6,000 of equity.) That is true in either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. The lender may ask for a reaffirmation agreement in certain situations.
If you have more than $3-6,000 of equity in automobiles, you may need to file a Chapter 13 Plan instead of straight Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The car equity amount protected can be different if you have moved to Missouri from another state in the last three years.
If you are behind on payments, a Chapter 13 may be necessary but we can typically change and even lower hw much has to be paid to the car lender, making some high payments much more manageable.
There is also an option in Chapter 7 to "redeem" a car for its retail value in a lump sum from the lender. This can be useful if your car is worth much less than you owe on it and you can either borrow the money to redeem it or a friend or family member might give you the money to do it.
Further reading: Reaffirmation agreements, bank screw-ups in Chapter 13, bank screw-ups in Chapter 7, Redemptions
If you are current -- and keep current -- on payments and have less than $3,000 equity in your car, you should be able to keep it. (If you and your wife on the car or cars, you c an protect up to $6,000 of equity.) That is true in either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. The lender may ask for a reaffirmation agreement in certain situations.
If you have more than $3-6,000 of equity in automobiles, you may need to file a Chapter 13 Plan instead of straight Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The car equity amount protected can be different if you have moved to Missouri from another state in the last three years.
If you are behind on payments, a Chapter 13 may be necessary but we can typically change and even lower hw much has to be paid to the car lender, making some high payments much more manageable.
There is also an option in Chapter 7 to "redeem" a car for its retail value in a lump sum from the lender. This can be useful if your car is worth much less than you owe on it and you can either borrow the money to redeem it or a friend or family member might give you the money to do it.
Further reading: Reaffirmation agreements, bank screw-ups in Chapter 13, bank screw-ups in Chapter 7, Redemptions
