Summons Served

[gpolly123]

Sorry this will be long, but there is a lot to explain.
I guess it has finally hit me that I have no choice but to file, we have been paying a lawyer since last summer. I had been stalling this whole process not really wanting to file but I know that we really have to. We have been putting this off as I was in the middle of going to school to get my real estate license. We also own a home with my sister who is recovering from a ruptured brain aneurysm and will be moving into this home with my nieces, this payment is split 3 ways, my son has been making our payment for the last year and half. My last problem is that I co-signed a car loan for my daughter through Toyota in 2009, she has really good credit and I don't want this to hurt her or have her lose her car. But on Friday I was served with a summons from GE Money Bank. So it looks like I now have to get my act together. We are a family of 3, my husband is on social security disability, I run a small family daycare that used to make good money until about 3 years ago, and we have an 11 year old at home. Our combined income is:

2300 disability (800 in my daughter's name)
2200 daycare (before food or gas expenses)

We are hoping to show enough income to file a 13. We have no equity in either property. My question is do any of you think that we can do 13 and save both my daughter's car and the home we own with my sister.

Thanks for reading if you got this far.

[WhatHappened]

Why would you want to file a Chapter 13?

I think you could file a Chapter 7 and keep the house and car. If I am not mistaken, Social Security income is not counted as income on the means test. Your filing bankruptcy in no way affects your daughters credit or her car loan. They cannot accelerate the loan or take her car away as long as the payments are made.

Go see an attorney who specializes in bankruptcy. In fact, you should shop around and see a few attorneys to find the one that you believe will work hard for you. Don't just take the first one you see.

[StartinOver]

Agree with what WhatHappened said. It would be different if SHE cosigned for you and you file. Then they would come after her. If the cosigner files and the payment is still being made by the purchaser of the car, no issues. File 7 and be done in 4 months with the entire process, and get a true fresh start, not encumbered by the 5 year payment plan on a 13.

[gpolly123]

Thanks for the quick replies. We were under the impression that we had to file a 13 to save the mobile home we own with my sister, we owe 33K on the loan and their may be 6K in equity split between us (my sis and my ex brother-in-law). We were also trying to strip a 2nd of 57K on our house. We owe 109K on the firstd and it now is listed on zillow for 140k but ours needs a lot of work to fix up (new paint, carpet, etc.). Do you think its possible to save both houses in a 7? We only get to speak with a paralegal at our attorney's office and I have the feeling she does not know much more then we do.

[WhatHappened]

Thanks for the quick replies. We were under the impression that we had to file a 13 to save the mobile home we own with my sister, we owe 33K on the loan and their may be 6K in equity split between us (my sis and my ex brother-in-law). We were also trying to strip a 2nd of 57K on our house. We owe 109K on the firstd and it now is listed on zillow for 140k but ours needs a lot of work to fix up (new paint, carpet, etc.). Do you think its possible to save both houses in a 7? We only get to speak with a paralegal at our attorney's office and I have the feeling she does not know much more then we do.

Is your sister's name on the title for the mobile home or is it just you? If she is on the title, you can release your liability in a chapter 7 and she can still keep the loan. I don't believe you can strip a 2nd in a chapter 7, but how attached are you to your house? It doesn't look like very much equity unless you could get rid of the 2nd AND fixed it up.

You should consider all alternatives, including walking away from your house and renting. Think about what would make your life easier and allow you to be happy in the future. If you are always struggling to make payments on something, perhaps it doesn't really have the value you think.

Just my 2 cents.

[gpolly123]

Thanks WhatHappened for your reply, yes we want to keep the house. We live near Los Angeles and our house payment is under $1,000 a month, plus its perfect for my husband who is disabled. We have no equity in either home unless we can strip the second but with our first under 109K I don't think that will happen. After looking around at the prices of property near the mobile home we own with my sister, I don't think there is any equity in that house either. I think we might even have enough exemptions to keep both my daughter's car and the mobile home, but I'm not sure how that works.