QUESTION
If I don''t want to include my house or my car in my bankruptcy, do I need to add the information to any of the forms?
Asked on Sep 26th, 2011 on Bankruptcy - Missouri
4 ANSWERS
Personal Injury Attorney serving Fall River, MA
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Botelho & Associates, LLC
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Yes, you need to list all creditors and loans on your bankruptcy documents. Then you must "Reaffirm the Debts", for the ones you wish to be responsible for. Once you receive your discharge, the debts you reaffirmed will remain, in your example your car and home.
Answered on Nov 08th, 2011 at 1:39 PM
William/J Joanis
You must list those assets in your bankruptcy papers or you will be committing a very serious federal crime. The related debt must also be listed. Because bankruptcy does not discharge debt, only the personal obligation to repay the debt, the house and the car remain collateral for the debt. You just cannot be asked to repay the debt unless you reaffirm it. If you are thinking about reaffirming those debts, talk to your lawyer. You could be making a GIANT mistake if you reaffirm and did not have to or should not have done so. In Minnesota we almost never reaffirm debts, but we counsel our clients to make the payments on time so there is no default on the debt. But, while bankruptcy is a national law, the application is very different from state to state.
Answered on Oct 14th, 2011 at 12:44 PM
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Yes, you need to list all of your debts, but you can reaffirm on your home and car which will allow you to keep them as long as they qualify as exempt property. You should consult with a bankruptcy attorney who can help you determine what assets you may keep and which ones may not be exempt. There are limits to the amount of property you can keep in a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Some advance planning may provide you with a much better outcome than otherwise.
Answered on Sep 29th, 2011 at 1:29 PM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Burbank, CA
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Law Office of Mark J. Markus
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This is a question that is asked very often (and I'm afraid to know how many cases it is NOT asked). A lot depends on what you mean by "include" which is an extremely vague term to use in connection with a legal proceeding. You must list all your assets and all your debts in any bankruptcy case. An intentional failure to do so can result in severe penalties and repercussions including the following:
1. Complete loss of your discharge;
2. Loss of non-exempt assets despite not receiving a discharge;
3. Referal to the F.B.I. and criminal prosecution with corresponding non-dischargeable fines and possible jail time.
Whether or not you can retain assets in a bankruptcy case depends on a number of factors including which chapter you file, the value of your assets, whether you remain current on any payments due to them, and what exemptions you have available to protect any equity in those assets under applicable state or federal law. You need an attorney to represent and advise you on all the above.
I hope this answers your question.
Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law
Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.
http://www.bklaw.com/
bankruptcy blog: http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/
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Answered on Sep 26th, 2011 at 6:24 PM