After you worked diligently with our office to get your bankruptcy case filed, you completed your debtor education class and attended your meeting of creditors. But what happens after the meeting of creditors? In short, not much…but there is a couple of things to consider.
1.) Reaffirmation Agreement for Car Loans.
If you have a car loan you may consider a reaffirmation agreement. A reaffirmation agreement is an instrument that can be used to keep your car loan out of bankruptcy. In order to complete a reaffirmation agreement, you must be able to show the court that you can afford to make the payments. Many people in bankruptcy are not able to meet this standard, so a reaffirmation agreement is not even possible. If you wish to execute a reaffirmation agreement, you should complete it within 45 days of your Meeting of Creditors. But even if you can afford it, there are many reasons to not do a reaffirmation agreement.
Our office generally does not encourage reaffirmation agreements. Most bankruptcy filers do not reaffirm their car loans. In most situations, they “retain and pay” by keeping their cars and continuing to pay them, while the bank continues to accept their payments. This can give you additional protection down the line.
However, be careful if your lender is “Ford Motor Credit” as they will not allow you to retain the vehicle without a reaffirmation agreement. 99% of all other lenders will not care that you did not sign a reaffirmation agreement, but you should confirm this with your lender after you receive the reaffirmation agreement.
If you have any questions, please ask your bankruptcy lawyer for clarification.
2.) Answer your phone.
Continue to answer any calls from creditors and inform them that you have filed bankruptcy and provide them with your case number and refer them to our office.
3.) Be patient about your discharge.
You will receive your discharge about 3.5 to 4 months after the date you filed your case. You will receive a copy of it in the mail from the bankruptcy court. If you do not receive your discharge within 4 months after your discharge, please give our office a call.
Once you receive your discharge your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is finally over. Check out our last post in this series, “What Should I Do After I receive my Bankruptcy Discharge?”
