Oakley Bankruptcy Lawyers
Bankruptcy is a very powerful tool to get rid of debt and still keep your house, car and stuff at home. Bankruptcy exists to provide you with a fresh start. The Law Offices of Lin & Wood exists to make the bankruptcy experience the best it can be under stressful circumstances. We have filed hundreds of bankruptcy cases for Bay Area residents. Schedule your FREE PHONE CONSULTATION or FREE OFFICE CONSULTATION with our experienced Oakley bankruptcy lawyers | attorneys today and find out how bankruptcy can help.
Meet our attorneys: Ryan C. Wood and Kitty J. Lin
We are committed to providing you with the best bankruptcy experience for a reasonable fee.
The reaffirmation of vehicle loans when filing bankruptcy became more complicated after the passage of the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act. Prior to the reform of the Bankruptcy Code a person filing bankruptcy could just continue to make their normal car loan payment each month and keep their car and get the pink slip when the vehicle is paid off. This was called ride-through. The 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act provides that there are only three options, reaffirmation, redemption and surrendering the vehicle to the finance company. The just keep paying the normal payment each month was not supposed to be an option anymore. Reaffirming a debt makes the bankruptcy filer legally liable for the debt even though they obtained discharge of the debt in bankruptcy. For a vehicle the concern is a year after the bankruptcy is done you can no longer afford to make the car payments and the car is repossessed. If the car is worth less than what is owed you will owe the difference. If you do not reaffirm the debt you will not owe anything. The reality is that most banks or finance companies will still allow the borrower to just continue to pay the vehicle payment each month without making them sign a reaffirmation agreement. Without reaffirming the debt though the finance company arguably would have the right to repossess the vehicle even if you are current on the payments.
By
Ryan
C. Wood