Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Ohio

Lots of words to respond with, but no good answer.

"Pay it off": The one month in arrears or the entire car loan? Let's assume it's the entire car

loan.

A car loan has two components, the lien and the personal debt. The loan must be paid to avoid repossession. The personal debt is the remaining deficiency obligation after a repossession.

In bankruptcy, one has the opportunity to reaffirm a debt but only until the discharge enters. Reaffirmation makes you responsible for any remaining deficiency obligation after a future repossession. Without reaffirmation, you are not responsible for a remaining deficiency obligation after a repossession. You got your discharge, so you can no longer reaffirm the car loan.

Some states, like Massachusetts where I practice, do not allow a repossession if you are current or become current on the payments. Others permit "acceleration", where the entire loan can become due when you fall behind. I do not know Ohio law.

You hired your attorney to protect and advise you. If the practice is that the bank does the reaffirmation agreement but it was not done in your case, then I believe the lawyer had an obligation to advise you on both points, (1) that the bank might not bother with repossessing since it did not present a reaffirmation agreement and (2) that you might want to have paid the lawyer extra fees to present a reaffirmation agreement to the bank.

There are also the issues of whether the bank is really going to follow through on its threat. It makes money by accepting your payments, not by repossessing, and whether continuing with the car loan makes financial sense.

You could consult with your lawyer about a Chapter 13, where you can pay off the car loan over three to five years, but Chapter 13 fees are high.

Lots of words to respond with, but no good answer.