Asset question...

[Rob517]

I am set to file end of this month and attorney is preparing the paperwork as of today. He thinks I will easily be a no asset case. I just learned today that my mom added me to her vehicle title a while back (I must have forgotten about it) and I plan to notify my attorney tomorrow so he can add it to the documents.

My question is about her vehicle being considered an asset. Its a 13 year old minivan with over 100,000 miles, some rust spots and needs a few mechanical repairs. She drives this daily and its her personal vehicle. She has no other transportation or vehicles. Its NADA and KBB private party value is between 2500-3000.00 Will this be a big deal to the trustee? Its her only car and its paid off but obviously old and in what I might describe "fair" shape.

What do you guys/gals think? Problem?

[AngelinaCat]

It probably is going to be okay. Your attorney will be the best to advise you, of course. Your mom probably added you to the title so that you would have no trouble transferring it in the unlikely event that something--God forbid!--happened to her.

That said, we are an asset case. Of the three vehicles that we own, one still had a mortgage on it and we were making the payments, but the other two were owned outright. One is a 1993 Pontiac Grand-Am, a former police car that we bought at auction. It had about 97,000 miles on it, and was valued at around $600. The other was a 'fixer-upper' 1968 Chevrolet Impala, that was a good project car when we bought it. But when 'Hub got his prostate cancer in 2004, a project car was the least of our interests, and it sat unmoving and untouched in the garage for about four years.

The trustee eventually decided to formally 'Abandon Interest' in our automobiles as "being otherwise fully encumbered (the mortgage) or too old."

This was in the form of a motion before the judge, which he had to approve or disapprove--it was approved--and the paperwork dutifully showed up on PACER.

Good luck to you.