Surrender or Redeem? How to Reduce Car Payments During Bankruptcy
Redeem the Vehicle The redemption right, outlined under section 722 of the bankruptcy code, means debtors have the right to buy the vehicle from their lender for what it’s worth. For example, if you still owe $30,000 on a vehicle that’s only worth $15,000, you can pay your lender $15,000 to buy the vehicle outright. However, you must make the payment in a single lump sum. If you can get the cash together, redemption is a great option to eliminate debt and keep your car. Finding Help With Redemption Redemption is often a choice that will work well for many debtors, but they don’t always have enough money on hand to buy this car outright. This is why The Moak Law Firm works with financiers who specialize in helping debtors keep their cars. With the judge’s permission, the debtor can take out a new loan to pay off a lienholder and keep their car. This option is usually recommended because the new loan is often much cheaper than the old car loan, which means the loan payments are significantly smaller. Filing for bankruptcy is a path to financial freedom. If your car payments are holding you back from that freedom, ask your bankruptcy attorney how to alleviate this burden and get a fresh start.
A few months ago, we covered how Arizona’s property exemption laws can help you keep your car when filing for bankruptcy. Long story short, if you have less than $6,000 of equity in your car, you will not be required to sell your vehicle in order to pay back your debts. But just because you can keep your car when filing for bankruptcy doesn’t necessarily mean you should. If your car is “underwater” — the vehicle is worth less than you owe on it — you may find the car payments to be literally more trouble than they’re worth. However, you have some choices about whether to eliminate your responsibility to pay those high payments on a vehicle that is worth less than the amount you owe. This is why debtors have options for dealing with vehicles that are too expensive to pay for. Surrender the Vehicle If you have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you have
the option to surrender your vehicle. This is basically a voluntary repossession. Your
bankruptcy will protect you from any liability for the amount of debt owed on the vehicle. You will lose the car, but you’ll also lose the debt associated with it.
Hoppin’ John
Word Search
Inspired by Epicurious
A traditional New Year’s favorite in the South, Hoppin’ John includes black-eyed peas that are said to represent coins, a sign of prosperity for the coming year. It’s usually served alongside collard greens, which represent cash.
Ingredients:
•
1 cup dried black-eyed peas
•
1 smoked ham hock
•
5–6 cups water
•
1 medium onion, diced
•
1 dried hot pepper, optional (arbol and Calabrian are great options)
•
1 cup long-grain white rice
Directions:
1. Wash and sort peas. 2. In a saucepan, cover peas with water, discarding any that float. 3. Add pepper, ham hock, and onion. Gently boil and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until peas are just tender, about 90 minutes. At this point, you should have about 2 cups of liquid remaining.
4. Add rice, cover, drop heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, undisturbed. 5. Remove from heat and let steam for an additional 10 minutes, still covered. 6. Remove lid, fluff with a fork, and serve.
AQUARIUS CAPRICORN CELEBRATE CHAMPAGNE
FIREWORKS FREEZING JANUARY MIDNIGHT
PARTY RESOLUTION SNOW WINTER
who was injured in an accident? We can help!
480-755-8000 • 3
Made with FlippingBook Annual report