Questions About Car and Income

[SecondChanceGal]

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[lrprn]

Being that it's a clear title, do I have to file bankruptcy on that loan as well as my credit cards? It's the only loan I have other than my credit cards and student loan due in 2011.

When you file, you must list ALL your debt. You don't get to pick and choose. You must list this loan.

And - am I allowed to keep a car that is valued at $2000?

Ohio's exemption for a motor vehicle is $1000 plus a wild card of $400 you can use for anything - see http://www.bankruptcyinformation.com/OH_exemp.htm . You're over that by $600. $600 isn't much, so it's unlikely your trustee will be interested in taking the car to sell it. However, he/she may well tell you that in order to keep it, you have to pay him/her the extra $600 over the allowed exemptions.

I AM right in assuming I document this as part of my income, eh?

Only all money earned in the six full calendar months before you file is included.

I've only made $7000 so far this year at work and that money was needed desperately to help pay for my divorce, moving expenses, utilities...am I to show where all of it went?

The trustee doesn't care what you spent the income on besides what is specifically listed on your expense forms.

Since I'm filing in 2007, am I only reporting 2007 finances and expenses?

You report all income from all sources for the six full calendar months before you file. For example, if you filed on August 1, your six months of income would include whatever income you received between February 1 and July 31. If you filed on August 30, your six months income would still be all income between February 1 and July 31.

Here's two excellent websites that do a good job of explaining how Ch 7 works - http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcyco.../chapter7.html and http://www.nolo.com/resource.cfm/cat...0/213/161/128/

Hope this helps!

[JollyGG]

When you file, you must list ALL your debt. You don't get to pick and choose. You must list this loan.

Ohio's exemption for a motor vehicle is $1000 plus a wild card of $400 you can use for anything - see http://www.bankruptcyinformation.com/OH_exemp.htm . You're over that by $600. $600 isn't much, so it's unlikely your trustee will be interested in taking the car to sell it. However, he/she may well tell you that in order to keep it, you have to pay him/her the extra $600 over the allowed exemptions.

If you have a loan for $700 at your credit union with a lien agains the car as collateral, you only have 1300 in equity. So you are good there. You must list the car, however you can reafirm that debt and continue paying on the car so that you may retain the car.