The situation:
I'm approximately two months in to my no-charge no-credit period and I may be able to file within 30 days or so. I'm well below median and have negative disposable income when my medical expenses are included. Even without medical expenses, I'm within $200 of having no disposable income using my current living expenses.
I have no assets beyond household stuff like everyone else except for one thing -- I have three vehicles...
1) Brand new 2006 pickup truck I bought last fall. It was a $28,000 truck that I paid $22,500 for and put only $2,500 down and stretched the payments out over six or seven years. Recipie for disaster, right? KBB trade-in value shows it's worth $23,000 today in excellent condition and retail is more than $27,000. I only owe the bank $20,000 right now. Can you believe that I actually have equity in this thing? I expect to reaffirm this loan and keep the vehicle.
2) Well used, but in otherwise good condition, 1999 Chevrolet Suburban with one teensy-weensy little problem. I owe my credit union $6,000 on this one and KBB trade-in value shows it is worth about $6,000 too. Retail value is up at $11,000. This one gets more complicated because I ruined a rod bearing in the engine on the way back from our last trip out of town for my wife's medical care. The engine is shot and I overdrew my checking account $1,500 buying a replacement engine. (I haven't repaired it yet so I still get to decide how to proceed.) It's even more complicated by the fact that the credit union has it cross collateralized with a VISA card and a line of credit that add another $5,000 or $6,000 to the debt. They can't take the truck if I don't want them to, but I'll never get clear title to it without repaying the $12,000 I owe them. (By the way, they accidently sent me the title a while back and I never told them. They signed off the lien but they signed it in the wrong place. The title I hold may or may not be negotiable unless I can correct it.)
3) My third vehicle is a 1988 stepvan. (Like a FedEx truck.) It's got exactly one seat, a diesel engine and an automatic transmission. I own it free and clear and it has saved my butt because I've been able to drive it to work and back every day while the Suburban above is out of service.
- I can exempt two vehicles when I file. Which two should I exempt?
When the engine in the Suburban died, and I didn't have money to replace it, I put the stepvan up for sale. I've almost given up selling it until today when someone paid me $3,000 for it.
Now I'm worried that this will be seen as selling an asset in anticipation of filing. I have a justifiable need for the money, and it's pretty clear that this vehicle is not necessary for my family's support. But I'm still worried.
For a while I though I'd exempt the stepvan and let them take the Suburban. There's no equity in the Suburban and it's broken. I though maybe they would abandon it to my possesion and I'd go ahead and fix it and drive it some more. I planned to keep the stepvan because of the small amount of equity so I could replace it later with something the family could use.
The last thing I want to do right now is try to by another vehicle of any kind from anywhere. the next vehicle I buy will be paid in full at the time of purchase or nothing else.
Without thinking of the bankruptcy, I would have gone ahead and sold the stepvan, fixed the Suburban and continued happily on my way with two perfectly adequite trucks.
Now there's a bankruptcy that's imminent and it's messing everything up. Does anyone care to give me advice on how I should proceed?
I'm approximately two months in to my no-charge no-credit period and I may be able to file within 30 days or so. I'm well below median and have negative disposable income when my medical expenses are included. Even without medical expenses, I'm within $200 of having no disposable income using my current living expenses.
I have no assets beyond household stuff like everyone else except for one thing -- I have three vehicles...
1) Brand new 2006 pickup truck I bought last fall. It was a $28,000 truck that I paid $22,500 for and put only $2,500 down and stretched the payments out over six or seven years. Recipie for disaster, right? KBB trade-in value shows it's worth $23,000 today in excellent condition and retail is more than $27,000. I only owe the bank $20,000 right now. Can you believe that I actually have equity in this thing? I expect to reaffirm this loan and keep the vehicle.
2) Well used, but in otherwise good condition, 1999 Chevrolet Suburban with one teensy-weensy little problem. I owe my credit union $6,000 on this one and KBB trade-in value shows it is worth about $6,000 too. Retail value is up at $11,000. This one gets more complicated because I ruined a rod bearing in the engine on the way back from our last trip out of town for my wife's medical care. The engine is shot and I overdrew my checking account $1,500 buying a replacement engine. (I haven't repaired it yet so I still get to decide how to proceed.) It's even more complicated by the fact that the credit union has it cross collateralized with a VISA card and a line of credit that add another $5,000 or $6,000 to the debt. They can't take the truck if I don't want them to, but I'll never get clear title to it without repaying the $12,000 I owe them. (By the way, they accidently sent me the title a while back and I never told them. They signed off the lien but they signed it in the wrong place. The title I hold may or may not be negotiable unless I can correct it.)
3) My third vehicle is a 1988 stepvan. (Like a FedEx truck.) It's got exactly one seat, a diesel engine and an automatic transmission. I own it free and clear and it has saved my butt because I've been able to drive it to work and back every day while the Suburban above is out of service.
- I can exempt two vehicles when I file. Which two should I exempt?
When the engine in the Suburban died, and I didn't have money to replace it, I put the stepvan up for sale. I've almost given up selling it until today when someone paid me $3,000 for it.
Now I'm worried that this will be seen as selling an asset in anticipation of filing. I have a justifiable need for the money, and it's pretty clear that this vehicle is not necessary for my family's support. But I'm still worried.
For a while I though I'd exempt the stepvan and let them take the Suburban. There's no equity in the Suburban and it's broken. I though maybe they would abandon it to my possesion and I'd go ahead and fix it and drive it some more. I planned to keep the stepvan because of the small amount of equity so I could replace it later with something the family could use.
The last thing I want to do right now is try to by another vehicle of any kind from anywhere. the next vehicle I buy will be paid in full at the time of purchase or nothing else.
Without thinking of the bankruptcy, I would have gone ahead and sold the stepvan, fixed the Suburban and continued happily on my way with two perfectly adequite trucks.
Now there's a bankruptcy that's imminent and it's messing everything up. Does anyone care to give me advice on how I should proceed?
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