Who can help me save my assets during bankruptcy?

Assets are one of the most critical aspects for bankruptcy filers. Most people want to hold on to as many assets as possible through the bankruptcy. The term assets is used to describe a variety of different types of property. Anything that you own, or you are paying towards, may be an asset. While the court does not expect you to list every one of your articles of clothing or each of the household appliances in your home, it does want to make sure that you do not have too many assets.

Protecting Assets

To protect assets during bankruptcy, the first thing you should do is to hire an attorney. The attorney will work with you to get an idea of how much property you own and which assets could be troublesome to protect. You should do this long before you file your bankruptcy documents.

From there, the process of protecting assets moves towards applying exemptions. Exemptions can protect most types of property the average person owns, as long as the property falls under the specific value. Here are some exemption examples that may apply to you.

• Your home, usually a homestead exemption, may be protected up to a certain value of equity.
• Your tools of the trade, or tools you use for your business, up to a certain value.
• Most personal property such as clothing, household furnishings and appliances, and home goods, up to a certain value.
• Most states protect at least one motor vehicle as long as the equity is under a certain value.

This is not an exhaustive list. Your state’s exemptions may be different.

Hire an Attorney

The attorney will work with you to apply the exemptions to the property you own. He or she will help ensure your property remains in your control if possible.