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The possibility of repossession is one of the most stressful aspects of insurmountable debt. When you’re already struggling to pay bills, repossession of your personal property can add insult to injury, making it more challenging to pay down debts on top. And that doesn’t even include how demoralizing it can feel to have your property taken away.
Obviously, the best protection against repossession is to make your payments on time, but if your financial situation has prevented you from being able to pay bills to the point that your property has been repossessed, you’re already in too deep and need a helping hand.
That’s where our Fort Collins bankruptcy attorneys can help. We work hard to help our clients navigate the process of Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy while protecting the property they need to live their lives and provide for their families. We have designed this website to give you some basic information on your options if you’re in debt and need help getting your repossessed property back.
Of course, this is just a general overview of how bankruptcy can halt repossession in Larimer County. For more in-depth advice and information, contact one of our Fort Collins bankruptcy lawyers for a free case consultation.
Has your car or other financed property been repossessed in Fort Collins? You mustn’t panic. You do have a couple of options, which we have listed below.
1.) Negotiate with the lender- It may be possible to negotiate directly with the loan company to avoid repossession through an alternate payment schedule or another arrangement. This may include offering to pay off the entire loan balance in order to regain your repossessed property. However, it’s important to note that the lender is under no legal obligation to work with you. Additionally, if you’re in debt and struggling to pay bills, even if you can reach an agreement, it won’t fix the underlying financial issues that caused you to fall behind and may find yourself facing repossession again in the near future.
2.) File for Bankruptcy– As you will see in more detail in the next section, filing for bankruptcy will stop the repossession process while also providing a solution to your debt issues.
As you can see, there are limited options to reclaim your repossessed property, and one of them isn’t a guaranteed success. If you’re considering bankruptcy to reclaim your repossessed property, timing and an experienced Fort Collins bankruptcy attorney are critical for your success. Keep reading to see how bankruptcy can help you reclaim your repossessed property, and then contact our Fort Collins debt relief attorneys to get the ball rolling on recovering your assets.
Bankruptcy and repossession often go hand in hand. However, our Fort Collins bankruptcy attorneys want you to know that declaring bankruptcy doesn’t automatically lead to your property being repossessed, and having property repossessed doesn’t mean that filing for bankruptcy will automatically get your property back.
If you’re struggling with debt and facing repossession, you may be considering bankruptcy as a way to get a fresh start. But what type of bankruptcy is right for you?
There are two types of individual bankruptcy filings available to Larimer County residents seeking debt relief- Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Regardless of which chapter you choose, when you file for bankruptcy in Fort Collins, an automatic stay goes into effect. The automatic stay is a court order that stops creditors from taking collection actions against you. That means your creditors can’t repossess your car or other property for the duration of your bankruptcy case.
There are other benefits to an automatic stay, including halting home foreclosure and ending wage garnishments. For more information about automatic stays, please contact our experienced Fort Collins bankruptcy lawyers for a free case evaluation.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the most commonly filed bankruptcy petition in Colorado, and is sometimes called ‘liquidation bankruptcy.’ That’s because, in a Chapter 7 case, the trustee appointed to oversee your case may sell or liquidate some of your assets to pay your creditors. But in most cases, filers don’t lose any property in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, thanks to Colorado’s generous exemptions.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy will discharge all unsecured and some secured debt, including the arrears on your financed item, however, it won’t cover the payments that are due during the duration of your bankruptcy case. Therefore, if you wish to keep your financed property after your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case has ended, you must keep current on your loan payments.
If you’re struggling to make payments on your repossessed property, Chapter 7 bankruptcy may not be the best option for you. Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases only take about 4-6 months to discharge, severely limiting the amount of time you have to catch up on your loan payments.
The other type of bankruptcy case available to individuals seeking debt relief is Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which is sometimes called a ‘reorganization’ bankruptcy. That’s because, in a Chapter 13 case, you work out a repayment plan to repay all or a portion of your debts over a three- to five-year period. By filing your Chapter 13 case, your secured loan creditor will be forced to receive their payments through the Chapter 13 plan. This means that your “payment’ will then be up to date.
Like Chapter 7 bankruptcy, when you file for Chapter 13, you’re protected from collection on loan arrears during the duration of your case. But that doesn’t mean you get to keep the asset without some provision for payment. If you have a stable income and just need help getting caught up on all of your past-due payments, Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be the right choice for you. Most Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitioners in Fort Collins have found that the 3 to 5-year duration of the repayment plan is ample time to get caught up on their loan payments, allowing them to keep their financed property after their bankruptcy case has been discharged.
In some cases, filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy isn’t enough to help debt relief seekers keep their financed property. If you’re likely to miss more loan payments for whatever reason, whether it’s a sudden job loss, divorce, or something else, it’s probably not worth it to try and get back property you can’t afford to keep.
It’s worth noting that if you do decide that letting the property go is the best option for you, you may still be liable for a deficiency. A deficiency is the amount of the original loan that remains unpaid after the lender has sold your repossessed property to cover the bulk of the loan balance.
Our team of experienced Fort Collins debt relief lawyers specializes in bankruptcy and repossession, as well as all other facets of bankruptcy law. By hiring a law firm that has over 30 combined years of experience providing legal aid to those in Larimer County going through bankruptcy, you give yourself the best chance to minimize issues that may occur as you declare bankruptcy.
We offer free initial consultations for prospective clients seeking debt relief through Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Talk with an experienced Fort Collins attorney from our firm, free of charge; during your consultation, you can learn about your debt relief rights and options in a no-obligation setting.
If you’re constantly looking out of your living room window to make sure your car is still in the driveway, now is the time to take action and make a positive change in your life. Our professional legal team is ready to help.