My car got repossessed. There is nothing I can do to get is back right?

My car got repossessed. There is nothing I can do to get is back right?

Wrong, depending on when you take action. You an often contact your creditor, make the payment to become current and they will return the vehicle. However, you probably do not have the money to become current or you would have paid it before it was repossessed. So now what?

You can file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, again depending on when you take action. If you contact our office prior to the car being repossessed we may be able to prevent repossession which will save you on repossession and storage fees. However, even if it has already been repossessed, the creditor must wait at least 10 days before they can sell the vehicle. So long as we file the Chapter 13 bankruptcy before the vehicle is sold, the creditor must return it to you given that you comply with certain requirements.

In order to file the Chapter 13 bankruptcy we need:

• Most recently filed state and federal taxes
• 6 months of income history
• Credit counseling certificate
• Documentation of the creditor who did or is about to repossess the vehicle
• A completed questionnaire that we will provide to you (While it is ideal to have this completed prior to filing, depending on the time crunch, this can be completed the day after the bankruptcy is filed)
• Attorney’s fees and court costs (Fees should be discussed with the attorney as they vary by office and circumstance

Okay so the bankruptcy is filed. You are done and they have to give you the car back right? Not necessarily.

Prior to returning the vehicle to you the creditor CAN, but does not always require:

• Storage/Repo fees to be paid. Occasionally the creditor will agree to roll these fees into the loan. While you are still eventually going to pay for it, it helps with not having to come up with the money immediately in order to have the vehicle returned.
• The creditor can request proof of insurance. Seems simple enough since you should have insurance on the vehicle anyways. However, rules allow the creditor to require proof of 3 months prepaid insurance with a minimum liability amount. This can pose a problem depending on how you pay for insurance. If you pay monthly you likely will have to come up with additional funds to prepay the 3 months.