chapter 7 bankruptcy when do I give my car up?
I am going to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, and I will surrender my cars. I am up to date with both payments, but will not make March 1st payments on them. When should I expect to surrender them to the banks?
If you want to get rid of them as soon as possible, you or your attorney can arrange for the surrender as soon as the creditors receive the Statement of Intentions indicating that you intend to surrender them… which would be about 2-5 days after the Statement of Intentions is filed in your bankruptcy case.
If you want to be able to drive them longer, you can usually manage to wait about 45 days after your Statement of Intentions has been filed.
Sometimes arranging the surrender can be problematic. If the vehicles are not properly licensed and insured (or if not in drivable condition) most attorneys advise requiring the lender to pick them up rather than you taking them to the lender’s place of business (if you get in an accident on the way to surrender the vehicle, you may be legally liable for any damages to, or caused by, your vehicle — not to mention that it may be illegal for you to drive a vehicle that is not properly licensed, insured or inspected).
If the vehicles are licensed, insured and operable, and you can legally operate them (you are properly licensed, etc.) it may be as simple as driving the vehicle to the lender’s place of business and dropping off the keys. But if it is any more complicated than that, talk to your bankruptcy attorney about arranging for the surrender.
In some cases, lenders may neglect to pick up the vehicle for months (or years) on end. This can be a problem (for example, if your municipality declares them to be "junk" and requires you to remove them from your property). If this could be an issue in your case, talk to your bankruptcy attorney about ways to resolve.
February 27th, 2010 at 12:21 pm