Many clients want to keep their car in chapter 7 bankruptcy, but have fallen behind on their payments. Without an expectation of increased income in the near future these clients often will not be able to repay their late payments before bankruptcy or keep up with future payments after bankruptcy. Therefore, a decision to keep the car or surrender the car must be made. To keep the car the client must either reaffirm the debt (agree to a new contract that will survive bankruptcy which could jeopardize their fresh start), redeem the car (pay off its fair market value in bankruptcy in exchange for title), or surrender the car in bankruptcy. Since it’s usually unwise to commit to a debt you could not repay before bankruptcy, and as full payment of the car’s fair market value may be unrealistic, surrendering the vehicle in bankruptcy may be the best solution. By surrendering the vehicle in bankruptcy the client is simply walking away from both the car and debt. Through an organized process the car will be voluntarily surrendered to the creditor and the debt discharged in chapter 7 bankruptcy.