Can I Save My Car From Repossession?
Car repossession is a serious problem for many financially-distressed people who depend on reliable transportation to get to work and to earn an income. In addition to possible job-related consequences, not having a car can make daily living in rural Illinois and in the sprawling Chicagoland metropolis much harder than it needs to be.
At the Law Office of Ronald D. Cummings, we understand how indispensable having a car is to people in Will County and the surrounding portions of northeast Illinois and we can help. As an established firm with more than 20 years of bankruptcy experience, we can help prevent car repossession and we may even be able to get back your car if it has already been repossessed. That said — you have a limited amount of time in which to act and we encourage you to call or contact us for a free consultation about this as soon as possible.
Options for Keeping Your Car
If your car has been repossessed and you meet certain requirements, you can get your car back if you can make good on the missed payments, late fees and costs of repossession no later than 21 days after the date your car was repossessed.
If your car has not been taken by the repo man, you can prevent repossession by having our lawyer file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition on your behalf. Once you do that, the automatic stay goes into effect and repossession is forestalled for the time being.
In order to keep your car in Chapter 7, you can opt for "redemption" (paying off the book value of the car in full, not the loan value) or you can pay off the arrears in full and enter into a reaffirmation agreement with your lender. In a Chapter 13, you can do a cram-down (similar to redemption but more complicated) if the car was purchased more than 910 days ago or, you can enter into a reaffirmation agreement with your lender and pay off the arrears as part of your repayment plan.
Can I Keep My Property?
In the majority of Illinois cases, property exemptions allow bankruptcy filers to keep most, if not all of their personal possessions. However, if you have a paid-off vehicle that is worth more than $10,000, a pending personal injury claim, a business interest, significant stock holdings or another type of valuable, non-exempt asset you want to protect — then we will have to weigh your options more carefully.
Free Bankruptcy Consultations
Joliet Area: 815.768.1325 / Toll Free: 1.866.721.9330
Call or contact us for a free consultation with our attorney.
We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.
