Cotulla, TX Bankruptcy Law Firms & Lawyers

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.

Civil judgments can often be eliminated by bankruptcy. The types of debts that may be ineligible to be eliminated are described in 11 USC sec 523. If the accident was related to a criminal action, such as drunk or drugged driving, it is possible you may not be able to eliminate it through bankruptcy, but the creditor would have to file suit against you in bankruptcy court very quickly to stop the debt from being eliminated.

In my practice, I've found that most couples can buy a house at reasonable interest in two years after filing a Chapter 7. You'll need to reestablish your credit. That means you have to make your payments on time to a business that reports to the credit agencies. For example, you're renting an apartment or a house, you pay utilities but most landlords and utilities don't report to the credit agencies. Car loans and credit cards generally report, so if you have a car loan, you're rebuilding your credit just by making the payments. When you filed bankruptcy, you received a swarm of car loan and credit card offers - many of these are ripoffs but you should look at them and if there is a low limit credit card with a good interest rate (in your case consider 18% a good interest rate), then apply and make the payment every month.