Understanding Chapter Seven Bankruptcy
Some people may build up too much debts and they may encounter an issue where they cannot pay off their debts. If that is the case, bankruptcy filing may be the only avenue for you. A lot of people like file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is a ‘liquidation’ of all the non-exempt assets which will ultimately be the way for you to pay off all your existing debts. As this is a supervised procedure, the authority will appoint a a person known as a trustee to sell all the non-exempt assets owned by the defaulter and distributes between the creditors. Exemptions refers to assets that the courts will not touch when the bankruptcy is filed. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is usually favored by debtors but not the creditors and with the law of exemptions, you can have a chance to reduce their personal liability and will be able to keep some of the belongings.
In this exemption the debtor keeps the property that he is allowed to keep. This list will be provided in the Federal Bankruptcy Code. The debtor’s property will be separated as exempt or non-exempt when a property exemption report is filed by the trustee. Take note that while the basic law may be the same, the exemptions may vary in other states.
Secured debts are in the prority list to be paid off but if the debt is unsecured, there may be a situation that the creditors might not get any money at all. The trustee is authorized to decide who gets the payment first, based on the law. One thing to note, if you want to file bankruptcy chapter 7 exemptions, the debtor must file the case in the state where he/she resides for a period of 730 days before filing for this type of bankruptcy. Alternatively, the defaulter may also file the case in a state where the debtor has spent most of the 180 period prior to the 2-year period.
Federal exemptions may also be provided including retirement benefits, death disability benefits, survivor’s benefits and miscellaneous. You should find out more about the Federal exemptions because not all the states are the same.
Yes, bankruptcy is not a good alternative and worst still, your credit score will have a major impact because there is a bankruptcy filing. You will lose most of your possessions and you need start all over again in your life. It must only be considered when there is no other option.
If, unfortunately, you have no other options, then always learn as much as possible about chapter 7 bankruptcy exemptions as it can help you lower your personal loss of assets and maximize the benefits of this law to pay off your debts fast.
Tags: bankruptcy