Thornton, CO Bankruptcy Law Firms & Lawyers

Maybe. Unless you reaffirm your mortgage debt during bankruptcy proceedings, your father will become solely responsible for repaying the debt. And if your father does not make the payments on time, the creditor can take legal action to foreclose on the property to collect the debt.

First, your home is a 'secured' asset, and what controls the repossession is not the bankruptcy, but whether you have maintained your payments on the property. If you purchased this jointly with your partner, then what's important is not who makes the payments, but whether the payments were made. I presume that you have been making the full payments, since your deadbeat partner has not contributed. As long as you are current, then the mortgagee can not take the property back. The bank has no obligation to release the deadbeat, even with your approval. You both are jointly and severally liable for these payments. If they are not made, then they can repossess regardless of bankruptcy. However, if he goes through bankruptcy, and is discharged, his obligation to contribute is excused, but, you have the right to maintain the payments independently and keep the property. Then, with him legally off the mortgage, maybe the bank will reassess your position. You should be listed on his bankruptcy as a co debtor, and could try to challenge his dismissal, however, it would most likely be a waste of your time. Move ahead without him, it sounds like your better off without him in your life or on your mortgage.

You can file either before or after. If you do not need to file right now, you may as well wait until after they start bothering you. If you wait until after they start legal action, you should file before they obtain a judgment as your bankruptcy proceedings will get more expensive if the judgment has to be removed from the title of any property you own. With that said, there may be other factors that would advise a filing now such as if you qualify for Chapter 7 now but will no longer qualify later, etc. You should consult a reputable bankruptcy attorney to make the appropriate determination.