A Bankruptcy Lawyer’s Blog

Keeping Your Property in Bankruptcy

Retaining Personal Property in a Bankruptcy Filing

As you are contending with an unmanageable debt load, there are a number of things that you must take into consideration. With each missed or late payment, your credit score and future financial stability are endangered. As debt collectors escalate their efforts to recover the money that you owe, it can have a negative effect on your physical, emotional, social, and professional health. Bankruptcy might have crossed your mind at this point, but you are concerned that you will lose your possessions as a consequence of a bankruptcy filing. This is, fortunately, a myth that has been perpetuated through intentional misinformation and accidental misunderstandings.

The first step in sorting fact from fiction so that you can make the best decision for your current financial situation should be a free consultation with a skilled and experienced bankruptcy attorney about your prospective case. There are several debt relief options available, and bankruptcy may be the right one for you. Choosing the best way forward is too important to risk making an uninformed decision.

Protected Property

An important and comforting fact to grasp is that there is effectively only one form of bankruptcy protection that requires the liquidation of one’s assets. Chapter 7 is appropriately termed “liquidation bankruptcy” for this reason. While some other filings may be compulsorily converted to Chapter 7 if you fail to meet certain terms, that is well within your control. In the event that you are ordered to submit your property for bankruptcy sale, the following assets may be exempt:

• A motor vehicle
• Tools and equipment needed for one’s professional work
• A bankruptcy filer’s primary residence
• Essential items including clothing, furniture, and others
• Items with sentimental value

Taking Action

If you are ready to shake your crushing debt problems, we may be able to help. Visit the website of the Arizona bankruptcy lawyers of the Harmon Law Office, L.L.C. today for more information.

James Witherspoon