Some secured creditors will request that you sign a reaffirmation agreement after your bankruptcy has been filed. A reaffirmation agreement puts the terms of your contract with the secured creditor back into place, as if a bankruptcy had not been filed with respect to that creditor. A reaffirmation agreement benefits your secured creditor because it allows the creditor to sue for a deficiency balance on the loan, should you ever default on the contract.

Reaffirmation agreements are entirely voluntary. To be valid, the agreement must be signed by the debtor, the creditor and then approved by the Court. A secured creditor normally will not enter into a reaffirmation agreement if the loan payments were not current on the day that the bankruptcy was filed.