Ville Platte, LA asked in Bankruptcy for Louisiana

Q: What does a motion to lift stay and for abandonment mean in a chapter 7 bankruptcy mean.

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2 Lawyer Answers

A: Generally speaking, when a bankruptcy case is filed, a protection called the automatic stay goes into place that prevents creditors from trying to collect against the person that filed bankruptcy (i.e., the "Debtor") or against their property. Usually when a motion to lift stay is filed, it means that a creditor (most commonly secured creditors for mortgages or car loans) is asking the court for special permission to be able to collect under state laws before the bankruptcy case is over. The abandonment part of it likely refers to the creditor's request to make sure that the bankruptcy court trustee doesn't have any claim against the property tied to the debt (again, like a house or a car).

A: A motion to lift is filed by a creditor to take the collateralized debt out from under bankruptcy protection. Chapter 7s allow you to designate how you are to treat a specific secured debt in your statement of intent--you can surrender the collateral, reaffirm the debt, or redeem the property.

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