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Saturday, January 24, 2009

What happens to my assets in bankruptcy?

By Josh Ramos

Despite the fear and misconceptions surrounding bankruptcy, many people find it to be a legitimate way of getting rid of their debts. Still, many people wonder about what will become of their assets if they declare bankruptcy. This concern is quite understandable, so we need to understand the basic forms of bankruptcy.

In chapter seven bankruptcy, your aim is to discharge, or wipe out, your debts completely. The downside, however, is that you may have to forfeit some of your assets in order to pay off at least part of your debt.

The other major form of bankruptcy is called chapter 13. Instead of just getting rid of your debt completely, chapter 13 is meant to form a payment plan to help you get back on track. This is often used to help people get caught up with their mortgage payments, and the repayment plan usually last 3 to 5 years. The good part about chapter 13 is that you don't have to forfeit any of your assets.

So, if are trying to get rid of your debt completely, then chapter seven would be the way to go. The problem is that you may have to sell off some of your assets in order to help pay for the debts that you owe. This is called liquidation, and it is a part of chapter seven bankruptcy.

Of course, if you're filing for bankruptcy, then you may not have many assets to speak of. In fact, in virtually all cases, no assets are forfeited for one of two reasons. Either the consumer doesn't have any assets to sell, or they just aren't worth enough to bother with.

Most people are mainly concerned with two common assets: the house and the car. In most cases, you're covered to a certain extent by a homestead exemption. The details vary by state, and this also depends on how much your house is worth and how much you still owe on it.

As we stated above, there are many details to be worked out, which is why it is so important for you to find a bankruptcy lawyer to help you through the process. Otherwise, you're unlikely to be able to navigate all of the legal jargon and reach your goal of debt relief.

That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to learn as much as possible before consulting your lawyer. You should continue to find articles like these because an informed client will make things easier for the lawyer, which can end up saving money in the long run.

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