Rio Dell, CA Bankruptcy Law Firms & Lawyers

I'm not sure I understand your question.  If you file bankruptcy you must list all your assets and all your debts.  If you owe a debt to your ex, then you must list her as a creditor.  If you're asking whether the debt is dischargeable, that's a different question entirely and depends on whether it is considered a domestic support obligation or part of the property division/marital equalization.  A bankruptcy attorney can advise you on all that after a proper consultation.

I generally advise people who are temporarily unemployed to delay filing bankruptcy until they have a new job. ?If you file bankruptcy now, additional bills - that you can't pay - will pile up and they won't be discharged because they'll be after your filing date. Wait until you've been hired but before you start your new job and you'll be able to put the financial crisis behind you without a lot of bills dragging you down.

A chapter 7 bankruptcy case does not involve the filing of a plan to make regular payments (However, a Chapter 13 plan does involve a repayment plan) Instead, the bankruptcy trustee gathers and sells the debtor's nonexempt assets and uses the proceeds of such assets to pay creditors in accordance with the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code. The answer to your second question depends on the type of car and the amount of equity you have in it (i.e. whether the Kelly Blue Book value of the car is greater than the amount owed to the lender + the amount of the applicable exemption amount). If there is no equity in the car, the bankruptcy trustee will not take the car. If there is equity in the car over, and the equity exceeds the amount of the motor vehicle exemption (usually between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the state you live in), a debtor can usually buy any unprotected equity from the Chapter 7 trustee. If you still owe money on the car, you can choose to reaffirm the debt to the lender, keep the car, and continue paying under the existing terms; or you can buy the car from the secured creditor in a single payment for its present value (this is called redemption). In some jurisdictions, you don't even have to reaffirm the debt: you can keep the car if you continue to make the payments called for in the contract.