My car was repossessed I have filed chapter 7 what is the letter needed to send to my car company to get my car back while my case is working through the courts.
-
-
Welcome to BKForum!
You may not necessarily able to get your repossessed car back. It depends on underlying non-bankruptcy law and whether the rights transferred to the creditor upon repossession. (Florida has some interesting things regarding pre-petition repossession.) I think it "may" turn on whether or not the creditor has already disposed (sold) the car.
Did you file with an attorney or are you Pro Se? If you are Pro Se then you'll have to negotiate with the creditor if they have not yet sold the vehicle. I would also have notified them immediately, by phone to their bankruptcy/insolvency department, that you filed and the stay is in affect. They should not sell the vehicle once you have filed, but it could take several days before they get through the mailed Notification of Bankruptcy.
Do you have a plan to bring the payments current? Do you plan to Redeem the car using the 722 redemption law? What does your Statement of Intentions (SOI) say regarding the vehicle (redeem, surrender, reaffirm)?
Chapter 7 (No Asset/Non-Consumer) Filed (Pro Se) 7/08 (converted from Chapter 13 - 2/10)
Status: (Auto) Discharged and Closed! 5/10
Visit My BKForum Blog: justbroke's Blog
Any advice provided is not legal advice, but simply the musings of a fellow bankrupt. -
While you may (or may not) be able to demand the return of the vehicle if it is still "property of the estate", the return of the vehicle will be short-lived. Unless you have the ability to complete a redemption or, bring payments (and associated fees) current and reaffirm, the protection of the automatic stay will be lifted and the vehicle repossessed again.
If you were trying to save the vehicle it appears you filed the wrong bankruptcy. Maybe you should have filed a Chapter 13.
As JB suggests, if the vehicle was repoed prior to filing, you need to find out if the act of repossession, under state law, ended any "ownership" interest you may have had. If it did, you can demand its return but probably won't be successful. If there are still "strings attached" to the vehicle you can send a demand letter "demanding" the return of property of the estate. However, since you are not represented by an attorney, the lender will probably ignore you. You would then have to file a Complaint/Motion for Turnover. Again, you are probably in the wrong chapter bk for this.
You really need to discuss this with a local bk attny.
Des.Comment
Bankruptcy Wizard
Comment