How do I protect my co-signers while filing bankruptcy?

If I own property - other than where I live can i file chapter 7 and keep the property?

Hi Guest,

If you file Chapter 7 and want to keep a property, you can reaffirm the mortgage on that property. Through the reaffirmation agreement, you promise the lender that you will continue making payments on time. The lender will not foreclose on the property as long as you stay current on the loan.

Thanks,

Jerry

my parents are planning on filing bankruptcy in the next month or so. what i need to know is very important and i want to make sure nothing happens to my credit in the process of their bankruptcy.

i have a car loan of $3000 (i have paid off $2000, so total of $5000) and my parents co-signed with me so i could get a better interest rate.

now what do my parents need/have to do in order to protect me?

thanks,
gina

gina, you're worried about nothing. your car loan is yours and they've cosigned it, guaranteeing payment to the lender in the event you default. their bankruptcy isn't going to impact your car loan, other than that your lender might get a little nervous knowing that you'll be on your own. as long as you continue your payments, you'll keep your car and your credit will remain decent enough to serve you well. you don't need protection from their bankruptcy.

hi, i filed chapter 13 because of a foreclosure proceeding. My friend is a co-signer on one of my cars that I don't want anymore. Should I continue to pay on the car loan while going through the bankruptcy process so his credit won't get affected? Should I wait and see what the trustee will say?Or can I just not pay the loan and sell the car. or wait and negotiate with the creditor.

well, you cosigner is absolutely going to be damaged by the chapter 13. he will either have to make payments because you are not (i'm assuming that you won't pay until the court works on your case), or suffer the consequences of the bankruptcy. yes, you can certainly sell the vehicle and you can certainly negotiate with the bank, but i don't know what is negotiable with a car loan these days.

have you had a discussion with your friend? if not, you need to do so right away. he put his trust in you, and that trust will be forever gone if you don't let him know what's happening.

Hi my mother is looking at filing for banckruptcy due to health reasons and her inability to make payments for various reasons. My concern is that I added her as a joint person on my credit card and she was told that she would have to roll this card in to her banckruptcy. The debit is not mine and I do not want to pay it, but I have a Top Secert Security clearance and I am wondering how this would affect my credit.

Also I just found out she is a cosigner on my student loans. I contacted them today to try to have her removed from the account. No dice. I do not have the money up front for this. If she files for banckruptcy does she have to roll this in since I am paying. Same goes for the credit card I am willing to pay this off. I am worried as if my name is shown in bankruptcy of any sorts I will lose my security clearance and my job.

Like I said I can pay my monthly student loan and I can write a check for the credit card I just cannot have this affect my credit or draw my name into the bankruptcy. is there anything I can do?

with both of those accounts, i don't believe you're in for any real trouble as long as it's you that's obligated and who is making payments.

i also don't believe that the bankruptcy, which won't eliminate the debt you owe, would appear on your credit report. you still owe whatever you owe, whether there's a cosigner or joint borrower or not. keep making your payments as you have, and you ought to be fine.

Thank you for the quick reply. This is just a huge scary mess. As she could lose everything at her age and if my name shows up I lose everything and a clearance is revoked. I will contact the student loan company, I am the one who pays monthly and she was the co-signer, same with the credit card. One thing I have learned never co-sign again.


She was told by the lawyer that they could go after me for both accounts. I do not know how the student loan company could as I pay them monthly. As for the credit card it has my mothers and sisters debit. I do not want to pay but if she files for bankruptcy I guess I have not choice.

i don't get your response...are these your accounts or hers? your earlier post led me to believe they are yours and she was added to one as a joint borrower and co-signed the other. yet "they could go after me" makes it look like they're her obligations and you're the cosigner. they don't have to "go after" you if you are making the payments to begin with. but the credit card information (i began typing this before reading your second paragraph) is misleading - is it yours or hers & sis? i'm befuddled now, but you need to make payments, that's for sure.

Sorry for the confusion. On the credit card, it is in my name and she was on there as joint act. I paid it off years ago, my sister had some health issues and my mothers card were maxed and she asked for permission to cover some bills of my sister. So it is not my debit per se, it is mine because my name is on the credit card, which makes me obligated!

The student loan, I had to have a co-signer to get the loan. My mother did indeed co-sign on my student loan.

Her lawyer has confused me. My thinking would go a long with what you said. I pay my student loans monthly, actually it is automatically taken out of my checking act. As for the credit card she makes the payments as the debit on there I did not incur, though I am financial obligated for it.

well as long as she makes the credit card payments, despite her bankruptcy, you should be fine. don't let her creditors know that she's paying that card, because they'll go to court on that and look for relief in the bankruptcy, i imagine.

my bankruptcy is already been discharge i have file for chapter 7 i was paying for my car but i was behind and toyota financial institution impount my car i have already paid 12060 to them and now they say if you want a car pay us 13000 thousand more i am only worried bcuz of my cosigner if i dont give them 13000 the will go after my cosigner the car total value was 16000 the rest is interest accordinly 705 percent

Hi imtiaz,

If the car loan has already been discharged through bankruptcy, you are personally not liable to repay it. Thus, if you stop making the payments, your credit will not be negatively affected. The lender will not be able to come after you or the co-signer to collect the loan balance. However, if you had reaffirmed the loan while in bankruptcy, you are legally bound to repay the loan. In that case, the lender can come after you or the co-signer.

Hi,
I have a quick question too. My mother signed for my car loan, and I am the cosigner. She is now going through bankruptcy and added the car. I didn't know and called today to make my payment and they said I need to contact the bankruptcy company. I want to know if they can repossess it, or if it automatically becomes my responsibility. I also wanted to know if I have to pay fees at the end of the loan, and if so what are the fees for and why do I pay them when I had nothing to do with the bankruptcy?

Thanks