Co-signer protected in chapter 13?

[Drazil65]

You really must do what is in your best interest and if that is filing a 7 then that is what you need to do. If you keep paying on the car and are not currently behind then you should be good. Will FIL find out, more than likely. You say he is not a nice person and would make your life miserable, maybe this is a good time to sever ties at least for a while and do what you need to do. Your family and quality of life is your priority and if he cannot come to terms with that and support your right to a decision (or at least not make it worse) then why do you want this man around your children and in your life anyway.

I know this is hard but please do not base your entire life decisions on this person, he cosigned but the car is being paid for and on time, it is what it is at this point. This might be a good time to tell him, get it over with and move on. Sorry you have to go through this but you need to focus on your family and your future. Good Luck!

[ess]

Just for my own clarification, if they are able to do a Chapter 7, how would this affect the FIL's credit report since he is a co-signer? Or would it at all since he would not be on the bk petition? Also, if they need to reaffirm the car loan, would the FIL also have to sign the agreement? I hope I am not making this more complicated but I was just curious.

It's not affecting my husband at all other then the bank won't talk to him either. I am reaffirming the car loan and he did not have to sign anything to do so. However, the FIL will get a notification of the filling since he will be listed as the co-owner of the loan.

[AngelinaCat]

It's not affecting my husband at all other then the bank won't talk to him either. I am reaffirming the car loan and he did not have to sign anything to do so. However, the FIL will get a notification of the filling since he will be listed as the co-owner of the loan.

Ess, are you saying that your situation is essentially the same that is facing our OP, RNmomtofour? If so, then it appears that you have answered her questions better than the rest of us.

[kornellred]

Why don't you just do what you have to do bankruptcy-wise and let your father-in-law deal with it in his own way. If he is not a "nice" person, anything you do is going to affect him. He will get over it, and so will you. Problem solved.

[ess]

In RNmomtofour's post she mentioned possibly filing chapter 7 and would it affect her FIL's credit as a co-signer. My situation is basically the same. My husband is a co-signer on our car loan and he did not file BK. My BK does not affect his credit, as it shouldn't since the car is being paid on time and never late. Their other question was would the FIL find out about it and the answer would be yes since the vehicle will be listed on the petition with the names of the people on the loan. As the co-signer the BK court mailed a notice to my husband to inform him of the Meeting of Creditors. I am re-affirming the car since when one person files BK then the co-signer becomes responsible for the payment so the bank can go after my husband anyway. I might as well re-affirm so they will continue to talk to us and it will show on my credit report as being paid on time. For a Chapter 13 the notice goes out the same way.

People have to do what they have to do. Worrying about who finds out should not deter someone from doing what they need to do. BK is not the disgrace it used to be.

[RNmomtofour]

Thank you ess for your response. I now know we will have to let him know about the bk, but I just don't want his credit damaged at all. I am still a little confused about what "re-affirming" is and how it works. Thank you so much for sharing your situation. Made me feel a little better.

[ess]

Thank you ess for your response. I now know we will have to let him know about the bk, but I just don't want his credit damaged at all. I am still a little confused about what "re-affirming" is and how it works. Thank you so much for sharing your situation. Made me feel a little better.

You're welcome. Read the boards here as much as you can, write down any questions you have and bring them with you to the attorney's office. Just keep meeting with them until you find one you are comfortable with. Most attorney's will tell you re-affirming a loan is not in your best interest and in most cases I would tend to agree with that. Each case is different.

[keepmine]

Thank you ess for your response. I now know we will have to let him know about the bk, but I just don't want his credit damaged at all. I am still a little confused about what "re-affirming" is and how it works. Thank you so much for sharing your situation. Made me feel a little better.

Reaffirming means, that post bk discharge you accept the orginal terms of the loan. In other words, should you default post bk you are liable for any deficiency balance.
Your FIL is also liable should you defualt for any reason. If you don't reaffirm, you're totally off the hook should something bad happen down the road.

[sandra123]

If your husband is not filing bankruptcy and your name is not on the automobile loan, it won't affect the cosigner of that loan. You should be able to keep the car as long as you continue to pay on it. If you file bankruptcy jointly, the cosigner could be held responsible for the entire amount of the loan. Since it's your father-in-law, I think it would be wise to discuss the matter with him. I would discuss it with your bankruptcy attorney to see if there's anything left out. Good luck to you

[ess]

If your husband is not filing bankruptcy and your name is not on the automobile loan, it won't affect the cosigner of that loan. You should be able to keep the car as long as you continue to pay on it. If you file bankruptcy jointly, the cosigner could be held responsible for the entire amount of the loan. Since it's your father-in-law, I think it would be wise to discuss the matter with him. I would discuss it with your bankruptcy attorney to see if there's anything left out. Good luck to you

Sandra123 is correct. I'm not sure what it is you plan on doing. First you mentioned filing Chapter 13 alone and then you mentioned filing Chapter 7 together. It all depends on what you plan on doing as to whether your FIL finds out about the BK.

[RNmomtofour]

We are probably going to jointly file 7 now. The lawyer said as long as we keep paying on the car, it won't affect my FIL's credit. But, we will have to tell him. We have no way around that (at least I don't think so). She said she will explain the logistics next week.