Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 10/1/2006

Question
I have 2 secured creditors that are saying I owe them more than I do. My lawyer says this is not for him to deal with.
Ford came to reposses the vehicle before asking for reaffirmation. I was advised by my lawyer not to give the vehicle up. I didn't. Now a month late PA State Trooper filed charges of obstructing justice and fraud against me. Is this vaild? Did my attorney advise me wrong. If so what recourse do I have?
Does my attorney have to straighten out what is owed with these creditors?
Do creditors have to give you the chance to reaffirm?
Can the court decide to lift the automatic stay without a hearing. Ford's attorney says they did because my attorney didn't file the necessary paperwork with the court. However my hearing date for the stay to be lifted was Oct.5, 2006.
I probably have more questions to ask and may develop more later on.
I will be grateful for any advice I receive.
I am in this situation because I had an accident in 2002 and wasn't able to work until 12/04 and then with limited hours and ablities. Then I bwas laid off in Nov. 2005 and haven't been called back or been able to find work.
Thank you.  

Answer
In a chapter 7 case, you have the option of doing one of 3 or 4 things, depending on the laws of your State.  You can either reaffirm the debt(enter into an irrevocable contract to repay the amount owed to the creditor), redeem the debt (pay the value of the vehicle in one lump sum), or surrender your vehicle with no further obligation.  If you want to reaffirm the debt, the agreement must be entered into and filed with the court before your discharge is entered.  A fourth option allowed in some jurisdictions is to just retain the vehicle and stay current with the payments on it.  This is a risky option, however, because the creditor can repossess after your bankruptcy case is over even if you are current with payments, if they want to.

Relief from Stay is a different matter and doesn't really have anything to do with your rights to redeem or reaffirm.  Technically, you must perform whatever you put on your statement of intentions within 30 or 45 days of the first date set for your meeting with the Trustee in your case.  A failure to do so can result in relief from the Stay.

In any event, it's not up to the creditor to ask for reaffirmation; it is your obligation to timely enter into such an agreement, IF that's what you want.