Bankruptcy Reaffirmation Hearings in Oakland, CA

The US Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of California has several San Francisco Bay Area locations:  San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Santa Rosa.  Each location has its own judges, trustees, and court rules.

The Oakland, CA court is located at 1300 Clay Street, near the Oakland downtown district, accessible by BART.  Parking across the street from the courthouse is expensive, but for someone willing to walk several blocks, there is metered street parking. 

Reaffirmation Hearings

The Oakland, CA court holds reaffirmation hearings regularly.  Reaffirmation hearings happen when an individual desires to pay a debt that may be discharged in bankruptcy.  The debtor wants to repay a debt in order to continue to using the asset.  To reaffirm a debt, the debtor signs a reaffirmation agreement prepared by their Oakland bankruptcy lawyer.  During the reaffirmation process, the debtor bargains with the creditor improved payment terms, like payment extension, less principal, or interest waiver.

Vehicle Debt Reaffirmation

Many bankruptcy cases deal with people who want to keep vehicles.  Reaffirmation agreements must be voluntary.  After filing a reaffirmation agreement, the debtor attends a reaffirmation hearing on the fairness.  The judge asks the debtor why s/he wants to keep the asset.  When a debt is reaffirmed, the asset cannot be sold to pay off creditors, and the asset may incur expenses like insurance which uses up funds that could go to creditors. 

If the debtor does not receive better payment terms in the reaffirmation agreement from the original debt, the debtor may change his/her mind about reaffirming at the hearing.  The judge may point out the debtor that s/he may be better off just using the asset until s/he cannot pay.  When a debtor reaffirms a debt and fails to pay, the debtor owes the debt after bankruptcy closing.  The debtor who defaults may need to give back the property to the creditor to sale at auction.  If the market sales price is less than what the debtor owes, the debtor must pay the difference. 

Rinne Legal helps people with bankruptcies, estate planning, and loan modifications in Contra Costa County, Sacramento County and Solano County. Rinne Legal has offices in Walnut Creek, Fairfield, Sacramento and Elk Grove. Contact Rinne Legal for a free consultation.  These blog posts are for informational purposes only and not intended nor should be construed as legal advice.  These blog posts may be considered attorney advertising in some states. Prior results described on blog posts do not guarantee similar outcomes in future cases.  There is no intent to create an attorney-client privilege or relationship with anyone accessing information on this blog.  Authors posting on this blog are not obligated to reply to any emails seeking legal advice.  The information contained on this blog is not intended to be a solicitation.