Can we keep both cars?

[d3a0s]

I just made a post about our house. I wasn't sure if I should have included this question or made another post.

We have an older (96) Dodge Caravan that is paid for and is my wife's transportation to work. Since we have two children it is also the family vehicle. I have a 2000 Ford single cab truck that I use for work and it has a loan against it.

If we file can they take one of our vehicles? Because if they take the van our family is stranded as a unit and my wife can't get to work - If they take my truck, I can't work

I have read some information from various sites online. At times they make it seem like everything will be fine - others make it seem like we will be living out of dumpsters.

[HHM]

No, they shouldn't be able to take your 2nd car, each of you is entitled to an exemption, so you take the exemption on the truck, your wife takes the exemption on the Van.

If your not filing jointly, list the truck as your asset and take the exemption, and list the van has your wife's asset.

Plus, generally, even if the trustee wanted it, the trustee is probably not going to go after a car like that (an older car of little value), the liquidation value is not worth it when compared to the cost of liquidating it.

[d3a0s]

Thank you for answering. That helps me alot.

[waziggy]

Having just seen an attorney the correct answer is "it depends" on how much equity is in each vehicle and whether or not any of the creditors notified challenges in court and ask the trustee to liquidate your assets claiming enough equity to pay them off the debt owed by you. Yes, they
can leave you homeless and carless from the court house. The same thing can be said for the home. In my case I have around $75,000 equity in the home and it's therefore a clear target. The good thing is that my debts I'm considering BK'ing are from my business which is a "S Corp". At first the attorney thought I was a "sole proprietor" since I am a small business with revenue less than $500K annually but when I showed him my corporation Federal Tax ID Number and Secretary of State's registration I found out
I can simply revoke my sub chapter "S Corp" Federal Tax ID number with the IRS and kill the corporation. The great thing is that killing the corporation just like if you die relieves any debt. Can't collect from anyone dead apparently (exception) is from a spouse or if there is an estate with no real will for probate. The business ain't married, doesn't have a significant other or a same sex partner or any survivors...

[HHM]

Having just seen an attorney the correct answer is "it depends" on how much equity is in each vehicle and whether or not any of the creditors notified challenges in court and ask the trustee to liquidate your assets claiming enough equity to pay them off the debt owed by you. Yes, they
can leave you homeless and carless from the court house. The same thing can be said for the home. In my case I have around $75,000 equity in the home and it's therefore a clear target. The good thing is that my debts I'm considering BK'ing are from my business which is a "S Corp". At first the attorney thought I was a "sole proprietor" since I am a small business with revenue less than $500K annually but when I showed him my corporation Federal Tax ID Number and Secretary of State's registration I found out
I can simply revoke my sub chapter "S Corp" Federal Tax ID number with the IRS and kill the corporation. The great thing is that killing the corporation just like if you die relieves any debt. Can't collect from anyone dead apparently (exception) is from a spouse or if there is an estate with no real will for probate. The business ain't married, doesn't have a significant other or a same sex partner or any survivors...

True, it does depend, and my answer did assume that the equity in the cars would fall within the exemption, which 9 times out of 10 they do and certainly for a 96 Dodge Caravan and probably the Single Cab 2000 Truck would also fall within the exemption amount. The thing most pro se filiers don't know is that each person has their own set of exemptions.

Regarding the corporation, your right, you can just kill it, but it is better practice to wind-up the corporation in a formal matter. You will still want to file Articles of Dissolution with the Secretary of State of the state in which you incorporated. Also, creditors of a corporation are not without some recourse to shareholders, because a shareholder is a trustee-in-assets of anything that shareholder took out of the corporation, and it might be possible to pierce the corporate viel if you didn't keep up formalities (i.e. minutes, annual meetings etc). A quick, busniess Chapter 7 is a fast, inexpensive way to dispose of the business with certainty.