QUESTION
My ex has claimed bankruptcy he was a primary owner on and I am the co-signer, will it be repossessed?
Asked on Jan 26th, 2012 on Bankruptcy - Pennsylvania
More details to this question:
I am the co-signer and had taken control of payments, unfortunately after finding out it has 1400 dollars worth of damage to the engine due to a timing chain snap, I was unable to afford to fix the car and keep up with payments, so I did neither. I am approx 2,000 dollars behind, they still have not repossessed the car. They never do when I fall behind for longer than 3 months. I have been paying when I can over the last three years, being I was a co-signer. Are they ever going to repossess it? Or being that it was claimed under bankruptcy, I have been paying for a car that I didn''t need to. It has not been paid for in almost over 6 months now and is sitting in the open for them to repossess. I get my income tax return and would like to fix the car, except I do not want to fix it and then they come and take it. Do I have to pay for the car or not? Or should I fix it and make arrangements with the car company. I do not know what to do.
2 ANSWERS
Personal Injury Attorney serving Fall River, MA
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Botelho & Associates, LLC
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You have left out one important piece of information, is the car legally yours? Is your name on the title of the car? If the car is not legally yours, I would not fix it as your ex can always take the car from you if it's under your ex's name. You are still responsible for payments on the car, as you are a co-signer. When your ex filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, your ex was discharged of the debt, but as a cosigner you are still read as possible for repayment of the debt. The lender will certainly repossess the car if you do not bring payments up to date, there really is no way of knowing legally when they will do that, but at some time they certainly will. Once they repossess it and goes to auction, you will be responsible for the remainder of the debt owed on the car.
I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where I practice. 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 & ASSOCIATES, LLCAttorneys At Law www.massachusettslawyeronline.com
126 Shove Street Unit 202 Fall River, MA 02724
Office: 888-269-0688Cell: 508-801-6747FAX: 877-475-8147
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Answered on Jan 27th, 2012 at 3:06 PM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Burbank, CA
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Law Office of Mark J. Markus
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The bankruptcy of your ex has nothing to do with your rights or liabilities relating to the vehicle. Assuming that there is no equity in the vehicle, or he exempted whatever equity there was, then the bankruptcy estate will take no interest in the vehicle. If you want to keep it, you need to make the necessary payments to the vehicles creditor, or else they can eventually repossess. If you don't want to keep it, then you can either sell it (although you may need to wait until after your ex's bankruptcy case is completed to do so) or return it to the lender as a voluntary repossession. In that event, you may owe a deficiency if it is sold for less than you owe.
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 Jan 27th, 2012 at 3:03 PM