Vehicle Repossession Lawyer in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
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Vehicle Repossession Lawyer in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Vehicle repossession generally occurs once a borrower is 60-90 days delinquent on monthly payments.
Vehicle repossession can occur once a borrower is even as little as 30 days delinquent on payments in accordance with vehicle sale contracts.
A vehicle contract is one that is is “secured” by the vehicle itself, the same as a mortgage is “secured” by a home/real estate.
However, in the realm of mortgages, there is a judicial process that exists which requires Notice, Filing a Complaint, Obtaining a Judgment, then the sale of the real estate.
The judicial process of mortgage foreclosure generally takes 4-6 months in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Vehicle Repossession Lawyer in Pennsylvania and New Jersey – Sadek Bankruptcy Law Offices
However, unlike the lengthy mortgage foreclosure process in real estate, when it comes to vehicle delinquency, no official notice or Court action is necessitated to repossess a vehicle.
Accordingly, someone who is as little as 30 days behind and intends to make a payment can wake up one morning and find their vehicle and their personal items that were in the vehicle to be missing.
The repossession can be devasting in that we rely on vehicles to get to work, drive kids to school or care for family and friends. It is most common that the vehicle borrower even reports the vehicle as stolen in that they were not far behind and sometimes were even in contact with the vehicle lender who ultimately took the vehicle without notice or warning to the borrower.
It is common for a borrower who may be delinquent on their vehicle to be carrying additional debts such as credit cards, personal loans and possibly an escalating mortgage or rent expense.
For in excess of 20 years, Sadek Bankruptcy Law Offices has helped reorganize monthly expenditures and assisted thousands of borrowers re-claim their vehicle through Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is a reorganization of debt, that allows repayment of secured debt over 3-5 years as a priority creditor and the secured debt is paid to the detriment of unsecured debt such as credit card debt.
For instance, if someone is earning $60,000 per year but is paying $1,000 per month to credit cards and their vehicle is ultimately repossessed; a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will return the vehicle to the Borrower and allow the Chapter 13 filer to pay a minimal amount as low as 0% to the unsecured creditors and be able to afford the vehicle on a regular and monthly basis moving forward.
One of the most powerful features of Bankruptcy law is the automatic stay. The automatic stay prevents “any act to obtain possession of property of the estate . . . or to exercise control over property of the estate.” 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(3). Accordingly, once a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy was filed, a repossessed vehicle was returned to the Borrower immediately.
However, in January, 2021 this long-standing procedure was challenged in a matter that was heard by the Supreme Court in City of Chicago, Illinois v. Fulton, 141 S. Ct. 585 (2021) (“Fulton Case”). The Fulton Case was a direct response to the City of Chicago retaining possession of impounded vehicles after a Bankruptcy was filed.
The Supreme Court in the Fulton Case ruled that 362(a)(3) prohibits only “affirmative acts” that would change the “status quo” of estate property as of the time a bankruptcy petition is filed. Meaning since the Borrowers lacked possession of the vehicles at the time the Bankruptcy was filed, the vehicle was not part of the Bankruptcy estate.
This analysis is written almost 2 years after the Fulton Case has been decided. During that time, we have seen hundreds of successful Chapter 13 filings in New Jersey and Pennsylvania after a repossession where the Borrower received their vehicle immediately after filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, even in the face of the Fulton Case.
In fact, we have yet to have a case where a Creditor has not returned a vehicle to a borrower after a Chapter 13 filing. If a creditor fails to return a vehicle, a Motion for Turnover of the Vehicle can be filed, citing under 11 U.S.C. § 542(a), that the subject vehicle is of consequential value and beneficial to the estate.
Based on the duration and continued success of the return of vehicle to the borrower after a Chapter 13 filing, it appears to be very unlikely that a Motion for Turnover will need to be filed or litigated.
Contact a Vehicle Repossession Attorney in Pennsylvania and New Jersey Today!
If you would like to discuss your financial situation, call 215-545-0008 (Pennsylvania) or 856-890-9003 (New Jersey) for a free consultation with a lawyer. We look forward to helping you!
