What asset does a Trustee have a right to?
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What asset does a Trustee have a right to?
My wife filed a CH 13 and completed her plan which included a motorcycle she had purchased before we were married. After the downturn in the economy, I decided to get a fresh start as well and filed Chapter 7 for myself. The trustee in my case is saying that even though the motorcycle was purchased 2 years before our marriage, he has a right to it because we made payments to the Trustee in her 13 case now completed after we got married. I can find no case law in this action by the Trustee. How can he convert obviously separate property owned and only titled by my wife 2 years before our marriage to community property because she made payments to her Chapter 13 after we were married?
Asked on September 9, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Arizona
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Good question. The only way I can see a factual and legal basis for the trustee to claim that the motorcyle that your wife has as an asset of your bankruptcy estate is if payments for it were made on it during your marriage where marital assets were used to pay down the debt loan on it if full payment was not done when purchased.
I suggest that given the need for additional facts as to when the motorcyle was purchased, how it was paid off and the issues in both yours and your wife's bankruptcies that you consult with a bankruptcy attorney to go over the documentation needed to render a more detailed legal opinion to you concerning your question.
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