Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 9/6/2009

Question
I'm almost ready to file ch 7, although a glitch has occurred in my case. My father decided to help me out by paying off my 2007 Toyota...Now that is an assett of over $4600 which Is over na above what is allowed in Michigan..And according to my attorney the car be taken away from me.by the trustee. I am unemployed and $21K in credit card debt...I am having 2nd thoughts on going thru with Ch 7 now..since I don't want the trustee to take the Toyota and liquidate it to pay my creditors..My father thought he was being a "hero" for helping me out....I am tempted to forget the bankruptcy and sell the car to my daughter..so my name is off the title...and creditors can't seize the car then...Plse advise me what to do...My attorney has informed me...I really have "no good choices" to choose from...It all depends on the Federal Trustee...What should I do?

Answer
Not sure what you want me to tell you.  If the applicable exemptions are insufficient to protect the value in your vehicle, then the Trustee can sell it.  You can, of course, offer to purchase it from the Trustee---probably for less than the $4,600, but I have no idea what your ability to pay on it is.

Is there some urgency to you filing a Chapter 7 case now?  Perhaps you can wait until you have a job and then perhaps you can either file a Chapter 13 case and retain your vehicle, or file a Chapter 7 and negotiate with the Trustee for some payments to keep it.

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