The purpose of a chapter 7 bankruptcy is to give the person filing, known as the debtor, a fresh start. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is not meant to take all of your money and property from you. It is intended for you to keep your basic property. To achieve a bankruptcy fresh start in Pennsylvania, you are given exemptions which allow you to keep nearly all, if not everything you own. You should know that in my 35 years of practice when my clients file a chapter 7 bankrutpcy they know exactly what the process is, that they will keep all of their property and they will come out on the otherside with a fresh start and be free of the debt that has been dragging them down.
In a chapter 7 bankruptcy it is important to know what property you can keep and is exempt, that is to say what property cannot be taken from you. This is acheived with a great deal of discussion and planning between my clients and myself. You don’t want to make a mistake in this planning process; keeping your property depends on good, solid work and cooperation.
It is very likely in a chapter 7 bankrupty you will get to keep your house, your car or truck, your bank accounts, household items and all of your retirement funds, IRA, 401(k) and pension. Before the bankruptcy petition is sent for filing, you will know that you are going to keep everything. If for some reason it would be that you would loose property you want to keep, there are other bankruptcy approaches to be taken or your problem might be solved by not going the chapter 7 bankrutpcy route. You won’t know until your bankruptcy lawyer and you sit down, learn about and discuss your particular situation.
The last thing to keep in mind when thinking about filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy is the effect it has on your credit score. It won’t be the severe negative effect that so many creditors, advisors and other web sites tell you. How so? That is a discussion for another blog. Or, make an appointment now to discuss a possible chapter 7 bankruptcy with our law office. 215-822-2728 schroeder@jrlaw.org