Cars & Bankruptcy: What You Must Know to Get It Right

By Cathy Moran, Mt. View, CA

It’s time for a summary and refresher on dealing with car loans in bankruptcy.

Somehow, my staff hit a wall this week on what information we needed about cars and car loans.

Then, we stumbled on what to do with that information.

So, here’s my roadmap to cars in bankruptcy. Fasten your seat belt: here we go.

Car value

A reliable value for the car is essential in any form of bankruptcy. It drives exemption planning . . .

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Recent headlines noted that March 2022 saw a 33.5% increase in bankruptcy filings over February. This could suggest the coming swell in bankruptcy cases anticipated since the start of the COVID pandemic. However, bankruptcy professionals recognize that consumer filings always spike in March (see chart). This phenomenon is usually attributed to the tendency to avoid filing in January and February...

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