Virginia Bankruptcy Legal Questions

Yes, bankruptcy will give you several options with respect to the vehicle.   You can reaffirm the debt, which means you keep making the payments until the car is paid off, under a new agreement which will deal with the past due amounts that you owe.   Or, if the vehicle is worth less than you owe, you can do a redemption in a Chapter 7 case and payoff the vehicle at its fair market value in a lump sum.   Or, of course, you can "surrender" the vehicle by giving it back and not owing anything further.   You should discuss your options with a bankruptcy attorney in your area. 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 automatic stay prevents any creditor from collecting, enforcing repossession of collateral, or foreclosing on a mortgage.  It begins with the filing of the bankruptcy petition, and ends with either dismissal or discharge of the bankruptcy. For an excellent summary of the automatic stay visit:   http://thismatter.com/money/credit/bankruptcy/automatic-stay.htm   For more information visit my website at www.alsobrooklaw.com. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.  ... Read More

Whether or not you will lose your home depends on a number of factors.  FIrst, it depends on which chapter of bankruptcy you file.  Second, it depends on the amount of equity in your home, and what exemptions you have available under applicable laws to protect that equity.  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 have a consultation with a bankruptcy attorney in your area.   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 already filed bankruptcy or plan to in the next 2 years, you must disclose this transaction to the Bankruptcy Trustee. At this point you may not be able to get on the title, as the loan company would be holding the title. You could contact the loan company and explain the situation, they may allow you on the title and as a co-borrower, Under no circumstances attempt to conceal this transaction. 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 Lawwww.massachusettslawyeronline.com 126 Shove Street Unit 202 Fall River, MA 02724 Office: 888-269-0688Cell: 508-801-6747FAX: 877-475-8147 TwitterFacebook  ... Read More

Your bankruptcy lawyer is absolutely correct, assuming you are referring to general unsecured debts, and not, for example, a debt secured by a vehicle or a mortgage on your home.  A debt is not a necessary living expense.  More importantly, the entire point of the budget analysis in determining whether or not you qualify for a Chapter 7 vs. a Chapter 13 or Chapter 11, is your ability to pay your creditors.   It makes no sense to pretend those debts are expenses and then claim you can't afford to pay anything to them.  If people could avoid making any payments on their debts simply because the debts are too high, everyone would simply increase their debts to the point where they can't afford to pay anything to them.  That's obviously ludicrous. 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

Do you want to keep the vehicle?  If you don't make a payment and there is enough time for them to repo it, they will.  But if you are not seriously in default now and plan on giving the car up later, then skip the payment if you have better things to use the money for, like foods, utilities, student loans, and health care.... Read More

Your father paid a debt (to a bank or whatever) that he and your mother had guaranteed.  The primary obligors (aunt and uncle) received discharges in bankruptcy.  The record of that loan is available in the bankruptcy record of the primary obligors (aunt and uncle).  But since they (aunt and uncle) were discharged from the obligation to pay the debt to the creditor (bank or whatever), they were also discharged from the debt to the guarantor (your father).  The effect of the discharge (Section 524 of the bankruptcy code) bars the co-debtor from seeking contribution for the amount paid.... Read More

To put a mortgage in a parties name they would need your address, social security number, credit report, tax returns or 4506t form, proof of income (paystubs) and bank statements, application of loan and notarized signature which would require a photo ID, license, etc. Either you are part of an enormous conspiracy bent on destroying your life, you have been subjected to a fabulous state of the art cloning project or "Pod People" replacement program (see Invasion of the Body Snatchers or 6th Day with Arnold Schwarzenegger) , or there are details regarding this matter that you have failed to state. More likely Realistically, to prove fraud and forgery on this scale against a large lending institution will take a great deal of time and attorney fees. If it is against a sleazy mortgage broker (who would have had to have remarkable resources), you may throw good money after bad if they have no assets. However, you should definitely send certified letters disputing the debt to the credit bureaus and fill out fraud affidavits for the lending institutions. You may eventually have a Fair Credit Reporting Act case if the reporting is not removed. You may be able to assert a claim under the Banking Code and Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices. Also you should check land records and your credit report to make sure you are not listed on any other mortgages. Finally, consider whether you have given your Power of Attorney to any parties that might abuse it. It would still be near impossible to pull this off with just a POA, however all things are possible in this world.... Read More

Never ever ignore a creditor lawsuit. A money judgment entered against you in Superior Court for an alleged debt could easily translate into a painful series of wage garnishments or even a lien on your property. Even though retirement accounts are safe from credit card collector judgments, your debt obligation will not simply vanish. Contact a debtor's rights attorney today to leverage your legal rights.... Read More

If you want to keep the laptop you will have to work it out with the creditor after you file the bankruptcy. The Trustee will most likely not be involved. The creditor could seize the laptop after the stay of execution has lifted unless you work out a reaffirmation of the debt or worked out a redemption of the laptop by paying what it is worth to keep it.... Read More

I don't do debt collection defense so this is very general. You should research the state and federal Fair Debt Collection Acts. Just google them. Creditor is required to give you an accounting of the charges. Also, the statute of limitations may have run, making the debt uncollectable. There are a whole lot of bottom feeders in collections. They buy up old debt for very little and start calling debtors. You can also make them stop calling you by sending a demand in writing that they no longer contact you. As to the amount of the debt, its amazing how fast the interest piles up on defaulted credit cards. When you default the interest jumps way up, maybe 20%.... Read More

Bankruptcy will not remove a lien or the ability to foreclose on the lien. When you file there is an automatic stay. This means that all actions stop until it is dealt with in the bankruptcy. In a chapter 13 you can force them to take new monthly payments for the old debt. You will still have to keep the new fees up to date.... Read More

Bankruptcy is a federal law.  While local practice may very, in every state, the basic rule is that you disclose all of your property and list all of your debts.  The effect of the bankruptcy is to have the value of the assets that would be available for creditors (non-exempt property) at the time of filing of the bankruptcy case liquidated by the trustee.  That amount, if any, liquidated by the trustee is then distributed by the trustee to the creditors. In most cases, there are no assets, and therefore nothing is taken from the debtor or paid to the creditors.  In exchange, the honest debtor is discharged from the personal obligation to repay the debt.  The debt still exists, he debtor's personal obligation to pay the debt does not.  If any one else owes it with the debtor or if the debt is secured with collateral, the creditor has the right to collect from that other person or to foreclose if there is a default on the loan secured by the collateral.  But the debtor cannot be asked to repay the loan.  So, if there is a car loan, and the payments are made, and the insurance maintained, the creditor cannot do anything, as there is no default triggering a right to foreclose, but if there is a default, the car will be sold to pay the debt.  As long as the debtor did not reaffirm the debt, the creditor still cannot ask the former debtor to pay the difference between the amount of the loan and the amount the car was sold for (the deficiency).  In some jurisdictions, the local courts make it more difficult for debtors to keep their cars without reaffirming the debt, however.  Your lawyer should explain this to you and tell you how things work in Virginia.... Read More

Bankruptcy protects the debtor from continuing efforts at collecting a debt that is subject to discharge. In Chapter 7, you will get the benefit of the discharge of this type of debt and if you have no assets that are "non-exempt" then you will be able to keep everything and will not be asked to pay anything back to creditors of this type.... Read More

Not if the debt was discharged. Certain debts are not dischargeable as a rule. On rare occasion, a creditor might object to the discharge of an otherwise dischargeable debt. This answer (as well as our Web site) doesn't address all facts & implications of the question; it's general info, not legal advice to be relied upon; it creates no attorney-client relationship; it may be pertinent to CA only; it's independent of other answers. Hire legal counsel before acting or refraining from bankruptcy/legal action F ... Read More