Can we keep the house and van?

[pandabear77]

We really need to declare bancrupcy. The only thing stopping us is we don't know if we can keep our home and our van.

Our home is worth $70,000 and we owe $64,500. Our van is worth $4000 and we owe $4775.

We have no other assets, no stock, no other vechicles, no land. We do have $18,000 in a 401K. We have over $25,000 in credit card debt and make about $50,000 a year.

Will we be able to keep the house and van? All payments on both are current. We live in Michigan.

[calif]

Hi
Yes you can if you play by the rules.
Your Van is a secured loan so you will need to continue making payments on it.
Your home qualifies under an exemption.
Good Luck

What Will Happen To My Home and Car If I File Bankruptcy?
In most cases you will not lose your home or car during your bankruptcy case as long as your equity in the property is fully exempt. Even if your property is not fully exempt, you will be able to keep it, if you pay its non-exempt value to creditors in chapter 13.

However, some of your creditors may have a "security interest" in your home, automobile or other personal property. This means that you gave that creditor a mortgage on the home or put your other property up as collateral for the debt. Bankruptcy does not make these security interests go away. If you don't make your payments on that debt, the creditor may be able to take and sell the home or the property, during or after the bankruptcy case.

There are several ways that you can keep collateral or mortgaged property after you file bankruptcy. You can agree to keep making your payments on the debt until it is paid in full. Or you can pay the creditor the amount that the property you want to keep is worth. In some cases involving fraud or other improper conduct by the creditor, you may be able to challenge the debt. If you put up your household goods as collateral for a loan (other than a loan to purchase the goods), you can usually keep your property without making any more payments on that debt.