If my name is on the title of a home, will this affect my bankruptcy file? 25 Answers as of September 28, 2011

You own half of a house, it is subject to a mortgage, so you own half of the equity, if there is any. If there is, and you cannot protect it, the house could be sold to get cash to pay your debts. You need an attorney's advice here.

It could, but will depend on if there is equity in the home and the household income. It would be better to add your name to the home after your plan is confirmed.

It would be best for your name NOT to go on the house until the Bankruptcy is finalized. Your partner can draft up a Will or a Trust in the interim that would ensure you received the house if something happens to them without running the risks of upsetting your Bankruptcy Petition. You and your partner should sit down with an estate planning attorney to discuss your options.

If you are on title, it is an asset and must be listed as an asset. Make sure to have a credible source for your financial interest in the property.

Yes. Putting your name on the home was a gift and now you are an owner. Your creditors could put liens on the home and potentially force the sale of a property you never meant to be on. It has to be listed in the bankruptcy and can throw off much of the calculations if there is equity.

So long as is no equity in the home it should be a non issue.

It will have an effect. But the level of that effect is dependent on the value of the house, whether you can declare a homestead on the house and whether there will be any equity. If you are on the title to the house own half of the equity. So, if there is a $50,000 of equity at the time you file your Chapter 13 case, you will have a $25,000 asset (your share of the equity) for which you may or may not have an exemption. If the equity is not exempt (and if it is not your homestead it likely will not be exempt), then your Chapter 13 Plan will need to account for the additional asset in your liquidation analysis. So, in our scenario, under the liquidation analysis, your unsecured creditors will need to get at least $25,000 in the Chapter 13 plan. Essentially, this gift of equity (which is what this essentially is) will be something that you may have to pay back to your creditors.

I would stay away from adding your name to the home. You could consider seeing an attorney about naming you as a beneficiary in an estate planning document such as a will or a trust.

It could be a catastrophic financial disaster, and you should be discussing this with your lawyer (and do NOT file a Chapter 13 without a lawyer). Owning a home could have an impact as to whether the home can eventually be taken by your creditors, and also as to what you must pay in a Chapter 13 plan.

it definitely will since the Bankruptcy court can invalidate any transfers within 6 months prior to filing.