Q: In bankruptcy (Ch. 7), how to I distinguish between something I own and something my father or wife own?
I was renting a piano, but my father said I could use his piano rather than lose money on the rental. Its ambiguous if he "gave it to me" (It is obviously a long term loan, but its understood my job is to take care of it although it'll be mine in the future.) I'm thinking of filing for bankruptcy and want to make sure that it is clear that he is the owner. Is there a way to protect this so it doesn't get caught in limbo during a bankruptcy preceding. (The piano sat in my father's house, which is several miles away from 20 years, so its not like I bought it and am pretending that my father owns it.)
A:
I don't think there is anything ambiguous about this. If your father owns the piano, it is his asset, not yours so it would not be in the bankruptcy estate. Doesn't matter if you are using it long or short term and the location of the item. It is another person's property and will not be involved in the bankruptcy proceedings.
That being said, I would not recommend doing the bankruptcy without a lawyer. It is a very technical process and if you get something wrong, it would be much more expensive to fix than having a lawyer do it right the first time. Most attorneys offer free consultations and flexible payment plans in these type of cases.
A: If your father owns the piano and you are just using it, then it is not yours. I recommend speaking with a Bankruptcy lawyer who can help you
A: Used pianos have no value and I would not separately list it. This is not something to stress over.
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