Will my mother's bankruptcy affect my motorcycle purchase? 14 Answers as of February 07, 2012

If your mother files bankruptcy it should not affect your motorcycle loan, so long as you continue to make the payments. However, if your mother needs to file bankruptcy, I am not sure that her cosigning is going to help you to get the loan. Also, if she is planning on filing bankruptcy she should not be cosigning your loan.

It may. Once she files, the lender will more than likely require her to enter into a reaffirmation agreement to reaffirm the debt (basically it is like she never filed for that debt). However, that has to be approved by the Court in most cases and a judge may not think it is in your mom's best interest to reaffirm a debt for a motorcycle she doesn't have or make payments on. However, it is doubtful that would be enough of a reason for the lender to pull the loan. My advice would be to not finance a motorcycle any way. That is always a bad financial decision.

As you've described the situation, your mother's future financial health (as your co-signer) should not affect your possession of the motorcycle that you plan to buy: as long as you continue to make all the necessary payments and there is no need for your mother to step in. But this scenario raises a different sets of questions. Namely, if a bankruptcy is in your mother's future, then how strong is her credit now? Is there an issue of job loss? Is she the victim of lawsuits or judgments? Does she anticipate becoming unable to work? If any of these are true then your mother may not * be* an acceptable co-signer. Even if she is accepted as a co-signer at the time that you purchase your motorcycle, if there is any reason to believe that her financial condition will deteriorate or that conditions will make a bankruptcy filing necessary, then you may have an obligation to tell the financing company about that or risk violating the terms of the financing agreement down the line. Feel free to contact our office if you wish to discuss this situation in greater detail.

It may result if she plans to file soon in dismissal of her case. It also might cost you the motorcycle.

If a co-signer files bankruptcy the primary lender still owes the money. In most instances this will not negatively affect the primary.

If she files bankruptcy after the purchase, you will be fine as long as you continue to keep the payments current.

If she co-signs you can keep it as long as you make the payments.

If your mother is about to file bankruptcy, it would be fraud if she co-signed for a loan knowing this. If by eventually you mean, some day, maybe, years, and she has the credit to co-sign, as long you are making the payments on time and keeping current, then when and if she files, it should have no effect on you, except that if you don't make the payments, they come and take the bike and go after you for any deficiency as she would discharge her responsibility for the matter in her bankruptcy. If you have any doubts about your ability to make the payments, don't do it. Wait until you are sure and can get it on your own. Bike financing companies generally do not play nice and if you go bad on a loan to them, they are very aggressive at getting the bike and their money back, and they will never finance you again (at least in my experience).

If she is a co signor, then she must disclose that debt on her bankruptcy and she will most likely have to sign a reaffirmation agreement from the lender or they will repossess the bike.

So long as you make timely payments after your mother files bankruptcy, it will not impact you and you will keep the motorcycle.