Can a timeshare company foreclose something I thought I didn't own anymore?

Yes, the timeshare company can foreclose. Foreclosure is a legal action that effectuates transfer of legal ownership. By listing and surrendering the timeshares in your Chapter 7 you only eliminated the personal liability for the timeshares. The filing of a bankruptcy does not cause ownership of the surrendered timeshares, or any other surrendered real property, to transfer to the lien holder(s). I am assuming the timeshares were abandoned by the Chapter 7 Trustee as assets. I am not sure what you mean when you say you signed over the timeshares during the bankruptcy, but it sounds like you still own them. Consulting with your bankruptcy attorney, or a bankruptcy attorney, would allow you understand what position your are in. The timeshare company thinks you own them and now they are doing what they need to do so that they can take control of them. Your options seem to be either sign the documents they provided to effectuate transfer legal ownership or let them go through the foreclosure process. If you are inclined to sign the documents provided, I recommend consulting with an attorney before signing and returning them. If you opt to allow the timeshares to be foreclosed, you should not face any liabilities as the debts associated with the timeshares should have been discharged by your Chapter 7. Consulting with a bankruptcy attorney so that they can review your bankruptcy filing and the timeshare documents would give you a clearer idea of the exact position you are in.

Title to the timeshare is still in your name. Either transfer the timeshare to the company, or just let them foreclose. I would have an attorney review anything you are suppose to sign BEFORE hand.

All that you likely did in the bankruptcy paperwork is indicated your intention to surrender the timeshares to the creditor. Whether the ownership was actually transferred away from you, this may or may not have happened. The Bankruptcy court doesn't compel the creditor to take the secured collateral, it is up to the creditor whether and when they do it. If you are being asked to sign some documents it would be a good idea to run these past your bankruptcy attorney just to be sure there isn't anything in there that creates a post bankruptcy obligation. The debt has been discharged so alternatively if you choose to sign nothing and do nothing and simply let them foreclose then all they take is the property and cannot pursue you for any deficiency (the difference between the value of the property and balance owed). There is no rule that says that the creditor must immediately take possession of the property or ever for that matter. Perhaps it would be nice to have such rules because in some instances debtors have been stuck with property that have essentially been abandoned by the creditor but lacking the funds to maintain the item and clear title so they can sell it or send it to the scrap yard. But luckily this is not typical unless the property has little to no value. Usually the creditor waits until the bankruptcy case closes before pursuing the collateral because they don't want to run afoul of the automatic stay or spend time or money on counsel to file a relief of stay and obtain court's permission to foreclose. Once the case closes however they at some point or another go after the collateral.

Saying on your bankruptcy petition that you intend to surrender an asset isn't the same thing as actually taking the legal steps required to do just that. It is a common mistake that people often make this assumption, but the legal system is not as simple as you might think. The timeshare lender is being nice by offering to keep a foreclosure off of your credit record. The maintenance fees made after the bankruptcy was filed are debts that would not have been included in your bankruptcy discharge and the timeshare company is within their legal rights to sue you to pay this debt.

Timeshares generally have some type of deed ownership. The bankruptcy extinguished your liability on the debt but you continued to own the "property". The timeshare company wants to sell your timeshare to a new buyer. Since you don't really own any property, I don't see why the timeshare company can't just print up thousands of these deeds but for some reason they like to resell the same units over and over.

You need an attorney to represent you. This is a complex situation.

The bankruptcy process does not transfer title to real estate. In order for title to the property to revert to the seller, you either need to sign a transfer document or they have to go through a legal process to get title. They need to get title to the property to resell it.

Surrendering the timeshares in bankruptcy did not necessarily get them out of your name. Surrendering a timeshare would get rid of your personal liability (ie: your obligation to pay on the debt) when you received your discharge. The land interest you had in the timeshare remained until the timeshare is foreclosed or deeded back to them.

In your Bankruptcy schedules you would have been required to state whether your intentions were to surrender the timeshares or reaffirm the debts. There is nothing in the required filings that operates as a transfer of ownership. The actual transfer of ownership happens separately. You would have received a discharge of the debt, but that does not transfer ownership. They are now asking you to go forward with the process of surrendering the properties. Is there any concern about signing these over now? Perhaps there is equity in there that you could realize by selling them on the open market, which would require paying off the timeshares, but I know that can be very difficult.

If the timeshares were "deeded" properties, the property remains in your name until you either convey it back to them via a deed - or they foreclose your interest in the properties, and the Court orders a deed be signed back to them or a successful bidder by the Master Commissioner (in KY). You are no longer responsible for the debt related to the time share if the amounts were discharged, however, filing bankruptcy does not automatically return ownership of a property to a third party. If the debt was discharged, the foreclosure action would proceed "IN REM" - against the property only - no personal judgment would be granted.

See an attorney with the details and BEFORE you sign anything.