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Will I Lose Everything I Have in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

Many people are aware that in a Missouri and Illinois Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can keep property by developing a repayment plan to creditors. But will you lose everything you have in a chapter 7 bankruptcy? Not necessarily. In fact, most of our clients don’t lose anything. Our first and foremost job in any bankruptcy is to protect property.

Each state has different laws that can help you keep the things you have when filing a bankruptcy. These laws are commonly referred to as exemption laws. Missouri and Illinois each have different exemptions that can protect certain kinds of property. In both states, there are exemptions to protect a certain amount of equity in your house, your car, your truck, household goods and furnishings, IRAs, retirement plans, the cash value in life insurance, wages and workers compensation claims. What even more people don’t know is that there is a special “wildcard” exemption in Missouri that can be applied to anything you’d like.

However, if you owe money on property such as a car, in order to keep it, you will be required to keep paying on the debt. If you make these payments and have exemptions to cover any value above what is owed, you can rest assured you will be
able to keep these items.

Of course, if you have more property than your allowed exemptions will cover, there are options. A chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to keep more of your property while also reorganizing your debt. A Missouri and Illinois Chapter 13 bankruptcy frees up enough of your income to help you keep the things that are most important to you while also getting out from under crushing amounts of debt.

A great St. Louis Missouri and Belleville Illinois bankruptcy attorney’s first responsibility is to help you keep the things that are most important for you. Therefore, if you take the time to carefully select the right attorney for your bankruptcy case, you can feel confident in his or her abilities to help you keep your property and get a handle on your debt.

How can you find the best bankruptcy attorney? Look for an attorney who is willing to offer you free information before you even step foot in an office. You can request a free copy of my ultimate Missouri and Illinois bankruptcy book, “Get Out of Debt: Secrets Your Creditors Don’t Want You to Know,” to learn what else you should look for in an attorney and how bankruptcy might be the right answer for you.

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