I received a call from someone who filed bankruptcy with me in mid July 2008.  At that time she had a leased car and was going to keep the car and keep making the payments.

In May 2009 she found she could no longer afford the car and returned it to the lessor.  The lessor sold the car at auction and money is still left owing on the lease.  They have contacted her to make the payment.  She called me to find out what she could do.

Unfortunately there is nothing we can do to help her.  Since she had advised the lessor she was going to keep the car and she made numerous payments to them after she filed for bankruptcy, this is considered an after bankruptcy debt.  Bankruptcy only deals with the debt she had when she filed.  If she had turned back the car to the lessor when she filed for bankruptcy, any shortfall would have been included in her bankruptcy debt.

Although none of us can forsee the future it is important to carefully review your budget when determining if you are going to keep a car.  As you can read from the example above,  turning back an asset  after bankruptcy can be very expensive.

It is important to review your situation with someone first. Call me at 310-PLAN and we can work out a plan that is right for you.