One of the most important rules of filing bankruptcy is full disclosure of all your debts and all your assets. That includes all assets that are titled in your name even if you don’t consider the asset to be “yours”. You may be wondering, “Does that include the car that my 16 year old child purchased with his/her own money but is titled to me?” Obviously, a 16 year old child would not be allowed to title a car in his/her own name because of their age. Or perhaps an older child had his/her car titled in your name because of credit problems. Do you have to list the car as an asset in a bankruptcy? Yes, you do.
Here are the questions to ask about the car:
- Who paid for the purchase of the car?
- Who pays for the gasoline for the car?
- Who maintains the car?
- Who pays for the insurance for the car?
- Who drives the car 90% of the time?
If all of those questions can be answered “my child” then your asset may be safe from the trustee and your creditors. You may have a situation where that car for bankruptcy purposes is considered your child’s car. You need to disclose this and talk to your attorney to see how this could affect you.