Legal Question in Bankruptcy in New York

Re: My daughter's car

Depending on the chapter of the bankruptcy code under which you file your petition and the value of the car, the Trustee may indeed be able to take the car to sell to pay off your creditors.

The car is in your name. Therefore, as far as the bankruptcy court and your creditors are concerned, the car is yours, regardless of who is the primary driver. Because it is yours, it is subject to the same scrutiny that all of your other assets are subject to in bankruptcy.

Don't get the bright idea to transfer the ownership of the car to your daughter right before filing your petition. The law knows about that option and therefore gives the Trustee a fairly significant period of time to look back to see if there are pre-filing maneuverings resulting in interesting transactions within that period of time before the petition was filed -- preferential treatment of creditors, transfers of assets (like cars), non-arm's-length transactions, etc. If there are such transactions within the lookback period, the Trustee can rectify the situation for the other creditors by suing the beneficiary of the questionable transfer to force them to relinquish the asset (or money equivalent to the value of the asset).

You do have a ray of hope. It is possible in certain circumstances to avoid having the Trustee confiscate the car. You need your lawyer to advise you.

Speaking of lawyers, do NOT try to navigate the murky and wild waters of bankruptcy filings by yourself. Your lawyer will be worth every penny you pay him or her -- and you can expect to pay a pretty penny for representation in a bankruptcy action (again, depending on the chapter under which you file and the complexities of your particular case) -- one of the gifts given to the citizens of the United States by Mr. Bush when he signed into law the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Act. If you cannot afford a lawyer AND you fall within their low-income guidelines, you can go to your county's Legal Aid Society and get good, free (or low-cost) legal help from them (you'll find them in the Yellow Pages). Legal Aid is NOT charity; the lawyers are paid and the funds do not come from either taxes or charitable donations. If Legal Aid can't take you, though, save your pennies and hire the lawyer; not doing so is just shooting yourself in the foot these days. Time was when bankruptcy could be done fairly easily without the lawyer; that has changed since the new law took effect.

Feel free to contact my office during normal business hours for an appointment for a free half-hour consultation if you would like to use my services for your bankruptcy action.

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. THIS POSTING DOES NOT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.