Reaffirming a debt means you agree to pay for it even after Bankruptcy.

Answer Applies to: Washington
Replied: 1/17/2012

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It's a post-petition promise to be personally bound on the debt.

Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 12/23/2011

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If you reaffirm a debt, you will be responsible for the debt. You should confer with your bankruptcy attorney to decide whether you should reaffirm. Generally, if the debt is not secured by property or if the property is overvalued you should not reaffirm.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/22/2011

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Reaffirming the debt means that the creditor is asking you to basically say that you agree that there is a debt and you are going to pay them for this reaffirmation of debt.

Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 12/21/2011

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A reaffirmation is an agreement with a creditor to continue owing the debt. This is common when the debt is for a secured loan, such as an automobile. Not all secured lenders require a written reaffirmation. Sometimes you can keep the collateral by simply continuing to make the regular payments.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/21/2011

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Reaffirmation means that you will be accepting responsibility for the contract you have with the creditor. Do not sign a reaffirmation with any creditor unless your bankruptcy attorney approves of it. You should show this notice to you attorney immediately.

Answer Applies to: Massachusetts
Replied: 12/21/2011

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It means you agree to continue to be legally responsible for the payment of the debt despite filing bankruptcy. Depending on what the debt is, it may or may not be in your interests to reaffirm, or whether you qualify to reaffirm. For example, if you have a car loan, if you do not reaffirm the car loan, the lender can repossess the vehicle after the bankruptcy is completed, whether or not you are current on the loan.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/21/2011

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Yes, if you reaffirm, then you are responsible to pay the debt.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/21/2011

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Reaffirmation is the process a signing an agreement after filing bankrupty which makes the applicable debt non-dischargeable in bankruptcy. In Colorado, it is rare to reaffirm unsecured debts and mortgages. Vehicle loans are a different story. Although most bankruptcy debtors in Colorado do not reaffirm vehicle loans, the decision as to whether or not to sign a reaffirmation agreement should only be made after consultation with an experienced bankrupty attorney who knows ALL the relevant facts. And yes, if you reaffirm a debt, you will be liable for this debt after bankruptcy.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/21/2011

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If you file a bankruptcy and reaffirm a debt, then, essentially, the discharge of your debts will not apply to the reaffirmed debt. In other words, if you reaffirm, you are still responsible for the debt even after the discharge. The most common debt that a creditor will ask you to reaffirm is a car loan. If you intend to keep your car, then you must pay the car debt. Since many people assume that they MUST reaffirm to keep their car and since those people intend to keep paying the debt, many pro se debtors enter into ill-advised reaffirmation agreements. In Massachusetts, a car lender may not repossess a vehicle absent a material breach of the loan (i.e., a payment default). If you reaffirm a car loan and are ultimately unable to continue payments even several years after the bankruptcy you could end up owing the bank money even after the car is repossessed. Whereas, with a discharge, as long as you continue to make your car payment in a timely manner you keep your car (even without reaffirming), and if you ultimately are unable to make the car payment and the car is repossessed, you will not owe anything to the bank. Accordingly, unless the bank is offering substantially better terms (which they never do in my experience), if you are up to date on your payments there is no reason to reaffirm.

Answer Applies to: Massachusetts
Replied: 12/21/2011

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Yes, a reaffirmation agreement means you will be responsible for the debt regardless of getting a bankruptcy discharge.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 12/21/2011

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Reaffirmation means you agree to take back responsibility for a debt that has been discharged in bankruptcy. It is generally a bad idea. Reaffirmation of a mortgage debt is not necessary. Some car companies will repossess a car if reaffirmation agreement not entered into.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/21/2011

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Reaffirm means that you will keep paying on the debt even though it could have been discharged in bankruptcy. You might want to reaffirm a loan on a car in order to keep the car. You keep making the payments but the care is not repossessed.

Answer Applies to: Illinois
Replied: 12/21/2011

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You are in way over your head. Stop talking to your creditor and get a lawyer. There is no such thing as a reaffirmation notice and there is no way to reaffirm a debt before bankruptcy. You are apparently about to be screwed by a creditor who is loving that you didn't know to get a lawyer. Even in bankruptcy, one rarely signs reaffirmations and if you should, your lawyer may negotiate better terms.

Answer Applies to: Georgia
Replied: 12/20/2011

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A reaffirmation agreement essentially bounds you by the debt even though you file for bankruptcy. If you fall behind the creditor can sue you for the debt and you would be responsible even though the debt was listed in your petition. Usually, only car loans are reaffirmed and in some cases only if the creditor will repossess the vehicle if you do not reaffirm. A reaffirmation agreement really does not benefit you in any way it just allows the creditor to sue you if you fall behind in the future. It may be beneficial for you to do so if they are willing to give you more favorable terms by reaffirming. This is unusual that the creditor sent you a reaffirmation agreement since you haven't filed for bankruptcy yet something does not seem right here. Their debt is still valid if you didn't file and they wouldn't need you to reaffirm if you didn't file yet.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 12/20/2011

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You normally only get reaffirmation agreements offered and signed after you file bankruptcy. With secured debts, you have there choices in bankruptcy. You can agree to keep paying your monthly payments, as per your original contract, which is called "reaffirming" the debt. You can also surrender the secured property to the creditor or you can redeem it and pay it off in full (and keep it).

Answer Applies to: Wisconsin
Replied: 12/20/2011

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You usually do not want to reaffirm a debt. This means that you want to still be liable for a debt that has been forgiven in your bankruptcy. It is most often done when a debtor wants to keep a motor vehicle.

Answer Applies to: Maryland
Replied: 12/20/2011

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If you have not yet filed for bankruptcy, a reaffirmation agreement would have no effect. Once you file and you enter into a reaffirmation agreement, you are then required to pay the loan back - the debt would not be discharged. Reaffirmation agreements are not required for real property, only for personal property (e.g., cars, furniture, etc.).

Answer Applies to: Maryland
Replied: 12/20/2011

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To reaffirm a debt means to confirm that you will pay it even though you are no longer obligated to do so. This is generally done once people have filed bankruptcy to retain secured property like a car or house.

Answer Applies to: Illinois
Replied: 12/20/2011

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A Reaffirmation Agreement is an agreement to continue liability on a particular debt after the bankruptcy discharge of other debts. You should only sign a reaffirmation agreement if you are comfortable with doing so and have been well informed as to your rights by an attorney. Many people reaffirm secured debts such as mortgages, car loans, jewelry, etc. You can also choose to let go of secured debts, not sign a reaffirmation agreement.

Answer Applies to: Indiana
Replied: 12/20/2011

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If you reaffim a debt BEFORE you file bankruptcy, that debt will be discharged. Don't do it, it's not likely in your best interest. During bankruptcy, a reaffirmation agreement will prevent that debt from being discharged in your bankruptcy case. You must reaffirm debt for auto loans you intend to keep. I do not suggest reaffirming any other debts in bankruptcy.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/20/2011

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Re-affirm depends on what the debt is for .You may want to re-affirm a mortgage in a home you live in or an automobile. This should not happen until the bankruptcy is filed.

Answer Applies to: Georgia
Replied: 12/20/2011

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Reaffirm means that you agree to pay a debt even after the bankruptcy is over.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/20/2011

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Yes. If you reaffirm on the debt you will be liable for the debt after filing. You should discuss with an attorney before you reaffirm.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/20/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.