Keeping Your Car in Bankruptcy
There are bankruptcy options that allow you to keep your vehicle as well as options that allow you to give up your current vehicle, depending on what makes sense for you. You need reliable transportation. You need safe transportation. You need transportation that will meet the needs of you and your family. This is a very bottom-line issue and a reason why many people considering bankruptcy fear losing their car. DON’T FEAR – YOU HAVE CHOICES!!
Depending on your situation, some of the options that you may have include:
•Reaffirming your current car loan in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy;
• Redeeming, or buying out the value of your car in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy (often through refinancing) to better afford your car;
•“Cramming down” the value of your loan in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to the true value of your car (if your loan is old enough); and
• Abandoning your current car (to get out of a bad deal) and buying a new car to replace it.
Making a Smart Decision
As with many of the decisions that you can make in a bankruptcy, the decision on whether or how to keep your car should be based on the affordability of your car, its condition and its usefulness to you.
Discussing your options with a skilled legal advisor is key to making the right decision for you and your family. If you are considering bankruptcy it is important to use this time as a planning opportunity to get out of any bad deals that you may be in and provide yourself with reliable, safe and affordable transportation for the future.
Let me help guide you through this important decision.
