Will I lose my vehicles if they are paid off??

[NeedRelief]

Hi, I'm sure this has been asked a million times but I just found this forum. My husband's father gave him an early inheritance so he could see him enjoy it while he's still alive. So, he gave him a 2007 Corvette. It is registered in both of our names. We also have a couple of motorcycles and another vehicle that we are making payments on. If we file Ch. 13, will we be able to keep all of them? The Corvette is sentimental to my husband and doesn't want to lose it. Thanks for your help:-)

[AngelinaCatHub]

In Chapter 13, you keep your stuff but must pay around all your spendable money to satisfy the creditors. HOWEVER, a car and those other toys are going to be questioned. For someone bankrupts the thought of how ya gonna gas it comes up. Is everything I both your names? It also depends on your debt, state, and Trustee. DO NOT TRY TO HIDE ANYTHING, I’ve been there and it is no fun. ‘Hub

[13bound]

Hi, I'm sure this has been asked a million times but I just found this forum. My husband's father gave him an early inheritance so he could see him enjoy it while he's still alive. So, he gave him a 2007 Corvette. It is registered in both of our names. We also have a couple of motorcycles and another vehicle that we are making payments on. If we file Ch. 13, will we be able to keep all of them? The Corvette is sentimental to my husband and doesn't want to lose it. Thanks for your help:-)

2007 Corvette with a clean title might cause you to pay more in your 13 because of your state exemptions on equity in the vehicle. i have three paid for vehicles and two of them came back to bite me in my payment plus my home equity.

[NeedRelief]

The car and truck are in both names. One motorcycle is in mine and the other is in his, the 4 wheeler is in mine only. I'm scared to file b/c we don't want to lose anything. Its a double edged sword.......

[NeedRelief]

2007 Corvette with a clean title might cause you to pay more in your 13 because of your state exemptions on equity in the vehicle. i have three paid for vehicles and two of them came back to bite me in my payment plus my home equity.

How does all of that work?

[woeisme]

You must pay in a CH 13 at least as much as the creditors would recieve if you filed CH 7. So if you filed CH 7 you would have to liquidate any of the car value you can't exempt. Say you have a paltry $1000 exemption, as is the case in the state of Ohio. Your CH 13 payments much be enough that the creditors get at least as much as Corvette value - exemption value. So if the 2007 Corvette is worth 30K, your CH 13 plan must pay back the creditors 30K-1K exemption or 29K. The more toys that aren't covered by exemptions = the more you must pay in a CH 13 to keep said toys.

[NeedRelief]

You must pay in a CH 13 at least as much as the creditors would recieve if you filed CH 7. So if you filed CH 7 you would have to liquidate any of the car value you can't exempt. Say you have a paltry $1000 exemption, as is the case in the state of Ohio. Your CH 13 payments much be enough that the creditors get at least as much as Corvette value - exemption value. So if the 2007 Corvette is worth 30K, your CH 13 plan must pay back the creditors 30K-1K exemption or 29K. The more toys that aren't covered by exemptions = the more you must pay in a CH 13 to keep said toys.

Yikes! Thanks for the info. What if we gave the car back to my father in law. He would be so mad if we lost the car since he gave it to my DH. Do you think it would be ok, if we just gave the car back? Or could they come after us for it later?

[woeisme]

If the car has already been transfered into you and your husband's name, the answer to your question is no, you can't just give the car back to your father-in-law. that would be considered an illegal attempt to conceal assets, a preferential transfer, and the BK trustee could still go ahead and seize the Corvette from your father in law. The look-back for preferential transfers is long, they'd definitely ask about any asset transfered in the past year, but if they suspected it they could go back much farther in time, 3-5 years even. Sorry, but that's just how the BK system is, you can't say you can't pay your creditors while holding on to assets worth a lot of money. You don't have to give up everything, but if you have more stuff than your state allows you to exempt, you have to pay the difference to keep it.