Giving my car up?

[Panacea]

My payments now are 461 per month. My dad offered to buy me a smaller used car, and said to surrender the car up in this bankruptcy.

I would make payments to him of 200.00 per month.

I would still be okay to file chapter 7 with this lower payment, but since its not actually a "real" contract, would this still count as a payment? Would we need some kind of agreement in writing? The car would be under his name, not mine. They would not go after him for the car, would they?

[LaurieM]

That's a difficult question for anyone to answer for you, without knowing what your monthly income and other monthly expenses are. For example, if the decrease in monthly car payments ended up meaning that you then had over $200 per month in disposible income... that would be an issue... it's a little like asking a surgeon to operate on your broken leg without seeing your xrays.

[Panacea]

My disposable income would still be okay......right now, I have $1.00 DMI, and that is with the 200.00, not the 461.

Sooo...I would still be okay to file chapter 7 with this lower payment, but since its not actually a "real" contract, would this still count as a payment? Would we need some kind of agreement in writing? The car would be under his name, not mine. They would not go after him for the car, would they?

[tcreegan]

Hi Panacea,

I would have something written up to show the trustee in case they ask about it.

They can't go after him for the car, just like they can't go after a bank or car dealer.

If the DMI is not a problem, seems like you are good to go...

Tom in Colo

[daytona]

What if you left the 461 in your schedule j and just didn't reaffirm? You could make arrangements to drop off the vehicle and be done with it. The 200/mo agreement with your dad is irrelevant then.

[AngelinaCatHub]

My disposable income would still be okay......right now, I have $1.00 DMI, and that is with the 200.00, not the 461.

Sooo...I would still be okay to file chapter 7 with this lower payment, but since its not actually a "real" contract, would this still count as a payment? Would we need some kind of agreement in writing? The car would be under his name, not mine. They would not go after him for the car, would they?

Panacea, it is my strong opinion not to do anything during your C7. Any change before you file could be suspect. Now if you stopped payment on the car, it would take at least three missed payments before they would ropo. In that time, you would save 1200 dollars, yet the bill is still listed on your forms. Your bk will be over before you need a gifted car. A gift from the parents even though it is masked under Dad's name, is questionable about hiding assets no matter how little the asset is. Trust me, we are/were the quintessential ignorant and made all the mistakes possible, but got by as we were so bad, it was apparent we were dumb as bricks. We had a Trustee who was great but it still cost us 10K that would not have had to be lost. Be patient. 'Hub

[daytona]

If your dad is buying a car and it is in his name then the entire issue is none of the trustees business. The only way it would become ttee's business is if you bring it to their attention by putting the $200 "rent payment" in your plan. Simply put, use the 461 in schedule J, don't reaffirm, get your case closed and make arrangements for the finance company to come get the car if you choose to stop paying for it. Whatever happens after that is moot. The only thing the ttee can do with the 461 is try to argue it is too high and disallow any amount over the number they want you to use...even then, you are still negative DMI.