El Indio, TX Bankruptcy Law Firms & Lawyers

First, for you and anyone who reads these questions and answers, you must list all of your assets and all of your debts. Period, no exceptions. You may not pick and choose. With that being said, a Chapter 7 Trustee will be appointed in the case and will determine the value of the car, subtract the various claimed exemptions you choose and whether they are legally sufficient, subtract the amount owed on the vehicle and see if there is equity which needs to be liquidated for the benefit of the creditors in the case. So if the vehicle is worth $19,000 and only you are no the title, then the most you could claim as exempt is $6,000, but that number will certainly be less. Subtract the exempt amount from $19k and subtract the amount owed from the amount after subtracting the exemptions and you have the equity. The larger the equity, the more you have to pay the Trustee. The exemption amount will vary on other factors in your case and I cannot determine that without much more information.

Hard to imagine how you managed to pay that much money if you did not want to continue paying and now you are concerned about it after so long. While the personal liability for the mortgage/deed of trust is discharged in bankruptcy, the debt is still collectable if the bank wants to sell the house in foreclosure and get whatever the sale proceeds are received because it is secured by a lien (a deed of trust or mortgage) and the lien is not affected by the bankruptcy. I would guess that the bank will now claim that you paid voluntarily which you are allowed to do after bankrutpcy. I doubt that you can get it back but your situation is so unusual that you need to consult with an attorney who can review the documents and get all the facts.