Florida law determines that certain property is off limits to creditors after a debtor has filed bankruptcy. These items are known as "exempt" from the reach of creditors and cannot be touched.
A short list of these items include: the Florida Homestead exemption, which is unlimited if you have owned the home for 40 or more months; a 1,000 dollar auto equity exemption, a 1,000 dollar personal property exemption, and an exemption upon qualifying IRA savings accounts, 401k plans, social security and disability income, and health savings accounts.
In addition, for persons not claiming a Homestead exemption (usually renters) there is a 4,000 dollar "wild card" property exemption.
Importantly, when a married couple files jointly, all of these exemptions can be combined to double the amount of exempt property.
As you can see, with proper planning and guidance from a bankruptcy lawyer you can really keep a good deal of your non-secured assets even after filing bankruptcy.
What is Chapter 7 bankruptcy?
Chapter 7 bankruptcy can most easily be described as "liquidation bankruptcy." In other words, many of your debts will be wiped out and non-exempt items in your estate might be sold off, or liquidated, to pay off your creditors.
Of course this is a very simple explanation of Chapter 7 and as with all things in the legal world the simple explanation only touches on part of the true definition.
In reality, most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases are "non-asset" cases in which nothing is taken from the person filing bankruptcy and nothing is sold to pay off creditors. In the vast majority of Chapter 7 cases (some say as high as 95%) the person who files the petition does not actually lose any property at all.
A bankruptcy attorney can counsel you on when, where, and how to file a Chapter 7 case so that you can keep more of your stuff and get rid of most of your debt.
Timing can be very important when choosing to file a Chapter 7 case. If a person files at the wrong time he or she might have to turn over more property to the creditors in his or her case. This is why I sometimes counsel my clients to wait until a specific point in time prior to filing their bankruptcy cases. This is not always possible, especially when pending foreclosures or garnishments properly require an emergency filing.
Contact my office if you are considering filing bankruptcy and allow me to guide you and counsel you on the best strategies for building an effective Chapter 7 case.
Of course this is a very simple explanation of Chapter 7 and as with all things in the legal world the simple explanation only touches on part of the true definition.
In reality, most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases are "non-asset" cases in which nothing is taken from the person filing bankruptcy and nothing is sold to pay off creditors. In the vast majority of Chapter 7 cases (some say as high as 95%) the person who files the petition does not actually lose any property at all.
A bankruptcy attorney can counsel you on when, where, and how to file a Chapter 7 case so that you can keep more of your stuff and get rid of most of your debt.
Timing can be very important when choosing to file a Chapter 7 case. If a person files at the wrong time he or she might have to turn over more property to the creditors in his or her case. This is why I sometimes counsel my clients to wait until a specific point in time prior to filing their bankruptcy cases. This is not always possible, especially when pending foreclosures or garnishments properly require an emergency filing.
Contact my office if you are considering filing bankruptcy and allow me to guide you and counsel you on the best strategies for building an effective Chapter 7 case.
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