I heard it again from a client with whom I met recently.
“I don’t want to lose my car, and I was reading on the internet. . .”
OHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO!
The internet can be a useful tool. You can make travel plans or research which car is best to buy. You can shop. You can get the current news from reliable media outlets. You can watch sporting events, or get information on how to fix your dishwasher. The options are seemingly endless.
But there are also perils in taking advice from random internet sources. There is quite a bit of potential financial danger from believing everything you read about bankruptcy from online sources that you are not personally familiar with.
Don’t Always Believe What You Read Online
I had a very calm and reassuring consultation with the client I referred to earlier. I explained that, with the Chapter 7 bankruptcy that I was recommending, he would be able to keep everything but would not have to pay back the $24,000 in credit card debt that he accumulated when he became disabled and was unable to work.
I felt pleased because we could help him.
Then he said: “But I don’t want to lose my car. I read that if I file Chapter 7, I will lose my car.”
That’s the internet at its worst, providing just enough misinformation to be dangerous.
You Have Options When Filing Bankruptcy
No one is going to lose their car in virtually any bankruptcy case of any kind that Steidl and Steinberg files on their behalf.
There are exceptions, and it’s a decision that is in your hands.
If you want to give the car back to the company who financed it because it’s something you don’t want or can’t realistically afford, you can do that.
If you decide to let a trustee sell it, which is exceptionally rare, you can do that.
If you wish to keep the car and still owe money on it, you must continue to pay for it to keep it. Filing bankruptcy does not normally wipe out the security interest that a finance company has on your vehicle, which is only fair. If you want to keep the car, you make the payments.
It is possible we may recommend that you get rid of a car, such as when you may owe, say, $13,500 on a twenty-year-old rolling rusted piece of junk. But that will be your decision.
Place Your Trust in the Experts
It is important that, in the matter of your financial situation, you place your trust in known, respected, licensed, and experienced legal authorities. Don’t believe something to be true just because you read it on the internet.
Schedule a consultation with Steidl and Steinberg if you are having problems paying your debt. You can drive to one of our convenient locations in the car that you will keep long after the bankruptcy has been successfully completed.{{cta(‘f9afd00d-63c1-431f-a97d-c1194d3c7651′,’justifycenter’)}}