Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Indiana

Re: Bankruptcy Property

Whether you can obtain the property depends on the bankruptcy surrounding the property, the Debtor's intentions regarding the property, and whether the property is subject to a mortgage. For example, the simplest case would be if the property was debt free and the Debtor was in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In that case, the Trustee would simply dispose of the property, and you could call up the Trustee and indicate your interest and find out the particulars of the sale. If the property has a mortgage, then things get complicated as you have to deal with secured lenders. Alternatively, if the owner of the property is going through a Chapter 11 (business reorganization) or Chapter 13 (wage earner plan), then the property may not be available as the Debtor may be planning to keep the property as part of the workout plan. Finally, if the property is owned by an individual, he or she may be able to keep the property even if they are going through a Chapter 7 (liquidation), depending on the exemption laws of their particular state.

To me, the first thing I would do is go look at the file at the bankruptcy clerk's office. It holds a lot of information. The Clerk's office will be able to look up the case based on the name of the debtor.

The debtor should have listed the property on the appropriate schedule (Schedule A for real property, schedule B for personal property), and any secured debt on Schedule D. Also, if the debtor is an individual and the property is secured, he should have filed a document indicating his intentions of keeping or surrendering the property. If it is to be surrendered, and you have the name of the mortgage company from schedule D, then you can simply call up the mortgage company and discuss its purchase.

If the bankruptcy is a chapter 11 or 13, then the Debtor still has to file the above noted schedules, which will still give you a starting point. However, you will have to look at the plan to determine what the Debtor intends to do with the property. A chapter 11 plan does not have to be filed until after 4 months after the Debtor files its petition, and often it is not filed until way past that.