Chapter 7 and Cars

This depends on if the car is in your name or your daughter's name. Many people put their cars under their name, for their children, for insurance reasons or for them to be able to be on the car loan. Usually if you have proof that your daughter made all of the payments, she is a primary on the loan and you are simply they are as a cosigner, most bankruptcy trustees will not take that vehicle. But technically on the bankruptcy law any asset which you have may be considered as an asset in your bankruptcy estate. If you are my client I would have you get all the original documentation demonstrating that you are simply a cosigner and not the real owner of the vehicle, this would be accomplished by having canceled checks from your daughters bank account which does not have your name on it demonstrating every payment made to the bank on that vehicle was made by your daughter and not by yourself. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147