At the start of a bankruptcy filed under Chapter 7, a debtor creates a bankruptcy estate that includes all interests in property in which you, as the debtor, hold any legal title or equitable. To show why abandonment occurs, if you gave a security interest in property, such as a house with a mortgage, in exchange for a loan, you agreed to a lien on that property created by agreement. A lien is an interest in the property that gives the creditor security for payment of a debt or performance of an obligation. This can create difficulties for the bankruptcy estate’s trustee, who looks for estate property to sell to generate funds to pay creditors some amount of money for what you owe them since the security interest must be paid first, leaving a smaller pot left to divided among other creditors.

The security interest also makes the use of exemptions more likely to succeed in protecting property from being lost during a bankruptcy – if the value of the lien and the amount of any exemptions cover your property’s total value, then a trustee could not generate funds for other creditors by selling the property since the secured creditor must be paid while you are entitled to receive the amount of your exemption. However, if you have a considerable amount of property that you want to keep but lack exemptions to cover all of it, you would need to consider Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, as Chapter 7 would leave at least some of the property unprotected. Meanwhile, in Chapter 13, plan confirmation regarding debt payments vests property interests in the debtor so the trustee doesn’t have to deal with the issue of abandonment.

Any nonexempt property creates an issue for a Chapter 7 trustee, though. It often will be “abandoned” or may be sold back to the debtor. These options arise because the trustee would have to liquidate the property – this involves converting it into cash and paying creditors of the estate. However, the costs of liquidation would include any liens and taxes that exist as well as costs of handling the sale. Often, this leaves little for distribution. This is why abandonment commonly occurs. The trustee decides how much of a burden the asset is when the estate is being administered or deciding that the asset is of inconsequential value and benefit to the estate. The value and benefit to the estate usually are the deciding factors. If the effort and obligations involved in getting rid of an asset outweigh the benefit that the estate would receive, the trustee has no reason to do anything with it. As a result, abandonment of this property occurs, which often puts the asset back in the debtor’s possession.

 Abandonment may happen during or after the administration of the bankruptcy estate, at some point following the meeting of the creditors when the nonexempt assets are turned over to the trustee’s control. Commonly, the debtor schedules the property when filing for bankruptcy, but it is not administered by the trustee through the closing of the estate. The presumption of abandonment will arise and, if no court order states otherwise, the property remains with the debtor by operation of law. Also, a trustee may pursue abandonment prior to the closing of a case after deciding that the property is too burdensome to administer or, more commonly, determining its value is inconsequential and retention does not benefit the bankruptcy estate, as mentioned earlier. This type of abandonment generally requires notice from the trustee to parties that might have an interest in the property followed by a court hearing if a party objects to abandonment.

A party in interest regarding specific property also could file a motion requesting abandonment. The Court would have to sign an order for the property to be abandoned here. While the party bringing the motion usually would be a creditor, the motion could be brought by the debtor who might think that the trustee is waiting for any nonexempt equity to increase in value before finishing the administration of the property, which often is real estate in this situation.

 The Bankruptcy Code does prevent the abandonment of property at times. Property could remain in the bankruptcy estate because it has not been administered or abandoned by the time that the case closes, which could occur when the property that doesn’t appear in the bankruptcy schedules. The trustee cannot administer or abandon unknown property. A debtor might need to reopen the case to attempt to get an order for the abandonment of the property. The cost and the time to do this is a reason for being thorough and forthcoming when you originally decide to file for bankruptcy.

While abandonment can occur at various times and in various ways under the Bankruptcy Code, its impact is what really matters. At the point that abandonment occurs, possession generally remains with the party having possession. Often, the debtor is this person when no security interest exists. However, with property that is used as collateral for a debt, the result could be different. For example, property that was repossessed and remains with the creditor at the time of abandonment may remain with the secured creditor. Often, secured property is under the debtor’s control and will remain there when it is abandoned by the trustee. Since abandonment doesn’t affect the automatic stay’s status, the secured creditor cannot take action to get property returned (for example, via lien enforcement through the legal system).

When the automatic stay ends, a secured party can look to non-bankruptcy laws to see what to do to get the property. With real property, this would involve following the foreclosure procedure under state law; if successful, the creditor eventually could have a sale scheduled.

Abandoned property and unsecured debts lead to a straightforward result since these debts are discharged and the property is not used as security for any debt – the property remains with the debtor. When secured interests are involved, the ultimate disposition of property becomes less predictable. In Chapter 7, the discharge eliminates personal liability for the amount owed so you can’t be sued for any deficiency, such as when property is sold but the proceeds are less than the debt. (You may have to worry about the IRS, though, because you had a debt obligation of which some portion never has to be repaid – this often is considered income to a person who no longer needs to worry about repayment of the entire debt. The IRS does have an exception regarding primary residences and discharge of indebtedness, though.)

Although you aren’t liable for the debt after abandonment of a secured property interest, the lien that attached to the property itself remains if you did not take care of this issue during the bankruptcy. This is why a secured creditor can take steps to sell the property after obtaining relief from the automatic stay or after the bankruptcy court issues the discharge order in your case. If there is no sale, the debt remains attached to the property. As long as a valid lien under state law exists, a secured creditor has a right to payment from the disposition of this property, although you, as the debtor, have been relieved of personal liability through the Chapter 7 bankruptcy.