Chapter 7 and car loan

[ab33arch]

here's the situation. i was in an accident in which i struck a tree. the damages are pretty bad. i haven't gotten a full estimate but a friend of a friend who works in an auto body repair shop saw pictures of the damages and said it could be anywhere from 1-4k to fix it. problem is, i didnt have full coverage on the vehicle so insurance won't cover it. i have to pay to fix my car out of pocket....this is my fault, i bought the insurance online and made the mistake of not realizing I hadnt gotten collision and comprehensive coverages.

i still owe 4,600 on the vehicle. before the accident, i was planning to continue payments on the car and keep it....but what the friend of a friend told me, the damages could very well be close to being determined as 'totaled'....i am still going to get a second opinion tomorrow at an actual repair shop but this is where i stand as of right now.

now, i haven't even looked into including my car loan in the bankruptcy which i dont even know if i can do at this point?? i came to here first because yous have helped me understand a lot so far.....

i'm not trying to find a cop out but just wondering what my options are as of right now since i was planning to bring the rest of my paperwork and payment to my lawyer next friday.....i am also planning to call my lawyer tomorrow to discuss this with him but again, i wanted to come here first to get some opinions....

any advice??

[BrokeinMD]

You'll have to talk to a BK attorney about your situation. It's a secured loan, so it should be included in your petition. You could probably even check the box that you want to surrender it, but, if you tell the Trustee to tell the bank to come and repo it, and it's totalled, they may or may not. That's going to be interesting to find out if they would take a totalled car. Let us know what your attorney says.

[tcreegan]

Hi ab33arch,

now, i haven't even looked into including my car loan in the bankruptcy which i dont even know if i can do at this point??

Not only can you include it now, you could include it after filing w/ an amendment.

Tom in Colo

ps: you have to have all debts on your schedules, make sure you give everything to your attorney, better to be overprepared than get a nasty surprise later...

[ab33arch]

update....my lawyer advised me to surrender it....he said there is the possibility they won't take it and try to fight me on it, since it is damaged and i didn't have full coverage when i should have, but he said that that possibility, in his opinion, is unlikely.....i'm praying he is right...