Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Legal Questions

The short answer to your question is yes, the Trustee can go after your brother-in-law for the money you paid him. If you were repaying him on a debt you owed him before your case was filed, it can be recovered on a theory of preferential transfer under 11 U.S.C. 547. If it wasn't a repayment of a loan, but an outright transfer of money to him, it can be avoided under other sections of the Bankruptcy Code on a fraudulent transfer theory, and that may also have implications for your discharge. On the other hand, whether a Trustee will actually go after the $1,500 really depends on the Trustee and policies in your jurisdiction (as well as, of course, which chapter you file.  This is really a non-issue in a Chapter 13 or Chapter 11 case).   $1,500 is a relatively small amount and in many locales, the Trustee would just ignore the transfer.  But you should check with a bankruptcy attorney in your area for specifics on how this might affect your brother-in-law, as well as yourself. 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/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr  ... Read More

The reason you can't find an answer is it depends on the creditor.  To my knowledge there is no law one way or the other on it.  There's nothing that REQUIRES a creditor to report ANYTHING on a credit report.  They are only required to be accurate with what they do report.  Many creditors will not report current payments on a debt if it was NOT reaffirmed in a bankruptcy case.  This isn't because they aren't allowed to--they simply choose not to.   Similarly, most will report payments made on a reaffirmed debt as being made "current". The best way to make sure you get credit is to simply take out a new loan for a new vehicle (or whatever) and that should enable you to get "good" marks for repaying. 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/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read More

If you have a bank deposit account with a bank that you owe money to on a credit card, yes they can do more than freeze the account, they can take the money out to satisfy their debt. If the above is not the case, then if they get a court judgment against you, they can seek a court order to seize money from any bank accounts you have an interest in.  It would be up to your joint account holder to establish entitlement to the funds to prevent seizure of the entire amount.  This is going to depend in part on the laws of your state, so you should consult with an attorney in your area about the creditors' rights. 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/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read More

Your Bankruptcy Attorney should handle this problem, sounds as if he never had you sign a reaffirmation agreement on the car loan, thus this is his mistake and fault. The proper course was not to just document your intentions on your petition, you also needed to sign a reaffirmation agreement to keep the loan in force. It sounds like your debt was discharged through your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition, which cannot be undone. To answer some of your other questions: Co-Borrower should still be liable for the debt, not discharged, they need to contact credit bureau to correct issue. Leave issue alone, unless co-borrower wants to pay back the debt. Yes they can take whatever payments you send them; the debt was discharged, but not their ability to collect payments. You can keep the car if you keep making payments or they will repossess. Giving it back is really up to you, damage is done. But you should be building your credit back up, not wasting it on a car loan you will not get credit for on your credit reports. But this is more personal choice, not a legal answer. 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 Twitter Facebook    ... Read More

Any creditor can obtain a judgment in court and then place a lien against any assets you have.  The underlying debt can usually be discharged in a Chapter 7 case (unless it was incurred through fraud or any of the other bases for non-dischargeability are present).  Liens will remain against whatever property you have an interest in on the date your case is filed, unless you separately file a Motion to Avoid the Lien in the Chapter 7 case.  That Motion will enable you to get rid of the lien IF the lien is impairing an exemption that you are entitled to under applicable law. Exemptions are "protections" for value you have in certain assets such that they are "exempt" from collections.  Every state has different exemptions amounts available. Exemption laws are based on the state where you resided for the 2 years prior to filing your bankruptcy case or, if you lived in more than 1 state during that period, in the state where you resided for the greater part of the 180 days prior to that 2 year period. You need to check with an attorney in your area to advise you on whether or not you'd be able to remove any such liens in a Chapter 7 case. 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/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr ... Read More