QUESTION
If I apply for a chapter 7 and find that I lose the house in a sale, before converting to a chapter 13, can I negotiate with the chapter 7 trustee?
Asked on Mar 23rd, 2017 on Bankruptcy - Nevada
More details to this question:
If I apply for a chapter 7 and find that I lose the house in a sale (and I wanted to keep the house), before converting to a chapter 13, can I negotiate with the chapter 7 trustee to give some acceptable amount of money to the trustee for the creditors without losing the house or going on to do a chapter 13? Note the amount of unprotected equity might be considered smaller could be 10-15K or even 25k (on 120k CC debt) and the trustee will have to detangle a complex title with many titleholders to sell the place in order to do the liquidation. Thus my question about possibly doing some sort of deal to give them some amount of money up front (with a loan from a relative) to finish the chapter 7.
7 ANSWERS
Commercial & Bankruptcy Law Attorney serving Powell, OH
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Ronald K. Nims
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You can always negotiate with the Chapter 7 trustee. The trustee's fees can't be paid by a house, only by cash. So getting cash instead of property is the dream of trustees.
Answered on Jul 03rd, 2017 at 5:18 PM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Cleveland, OH
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Benson Law Firm
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This is a matter that definitely needs the attention of a competent bankruptcy attorney. But yes, it is not uncommon to negotiate a payment plan with the Chapter 7 Trustee.
Answered on Jun 21st, 2017 at 1:11 PM
Yes, in lieu of the Chapter 7 Trustee selling an asset you can always try to negotiate an amount and pay the Trustee, so the creditors still get the benefit of your non-exempt asset(s) and you can keep the asset(s).
Answered on Jun 20th, 2017 at 7:48 AM
Meet with an experienced BK lawyer to review the matter with you. Any lawyer worth their salt will charge you for their time (a minimum of one hour).
Answered on Jun 20th, 2017 at 7:48 AM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Madison, WI
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Richard B. Jacobson & Associates, LLC
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Your question is a bit confusing. First things first: retain an experience bankruptcy lawyer; it's almost always worth the expense. The question of whether or not you lose the house requires consideration of the homestead exemption(s) applicable to your circumstances. In a Chapter 13 you would be paying into the Plan at least as much as your non-exempt equity in the home, but if there are many titleholders, then perhaps your share of the equity is smaller than it appears.
Answered on Jun 20th, 2017 at 7:47 AM
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Yes, you can make the chapter 7 trustee an offer to purchase any non-exempt equity back from the bankruptcy estate. Two thing you need to be aware of: 1) You can not FORCE the trustee to accept your offer, and 2) The judge must approve any offer you make to ensure that it is fair. That means creditors will need to get roughly what they would get if the trustee sells the home.
Answered on Jun 20th, 2017 at 7:47 AM
This makes no sense. it generally takes no more than a day or two to convert a case from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 unless you have no idea what you are doing.
Answered on Jun 19th, 2017 at 12:38 AM