If I file for bankruptcy protection will the cosigner of my car become liable

You will be required to testify under oath at the Chapter 341 meeting, and your petition must be sworn to under oath. If you are untruthful, it will be obvious and very likely to cause serious problems.

You can tell your ex that you are going to be filing bankruptcy and that you will have to report that she has possession of the car. You can also tell her that you will be surrendering the car and asking that you be discharged as to the debt, but that she should feel free to try to work something out with the creditor.

On your schedules, if you report honestly and to the best of your knowledge the whereabouts of the car and cooperate with the creditor, you will have a much better chance of successfully discharging the debt.

You must be truthful with all your filings. But there are solutions. Some conventional and some not so conventional. I had a client contact his EX (not at my prompting) after realizing the jeopardy and possibly embarrassment of the inevitable repossession. At first he was not successful, but he was resourceful. He looked and looked and finally located her on a social community website. She was really appreciative and the lender agreed to maintain the car with her keeping the current while my Client received his discharge. Ironically, at our Trustees meeting he met me in the parking lot to go over some docs. Who was in the car..his EX..or his now, Fiance...

So, you never know where it takes you but make sure you reveal to the court and try and get ahold of your EX...just to let her know about alternatives...

Now, if you do not know where the Car is for other reasons, then perhaps you will need to be more specific in your question. either way, good luck with your filing!

In a chapter 13, there is what is known as a co-debtor stay, where even though the other debtor on the car debt isn't in bankruptcy, the creditor cannot go after her without getting that stay lifted. However, she continues to be liable, and if she is in possession of the car, you would want to make sure the lender is aware of that. If your ex wants to keep the car, she can make arrangements with the lender to pay for it. In any event I would recommend consulting with your bankruptcy attorney about this and have your attorney deal with the lender for you or advise you as to the best way to deal with the problem.