Most people who file for a chapter 7 keep all of their assets and discharge all of their debt. If you need to file, waiting is just prolonging a bad situation.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/29/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

The best way to take the fear out of filing bankruptcy is to talk to a bankruptcy attorney who is a certified specialist. Consult the State Bar for a listing of those attorneys in your area. Technically, chapter 7 is referred to as a liquidation. What that means is that non-exempt assets are sold by a trustee for the benefit of the creditors. In reality, calling chapter 7 a liquidation is a misnomer. The vast majority of persons filing chapter 7 have no non-exempt assets so there is nothing for the trustee to sell, that is, liquidate. It is time to file bankruptcy after you are counseled by an attorney as to whether you can claim all assets exempt. In some situations there are things that can be legitimately done to protect assets prior to filing.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

There is no bright-line test as to when it is appropriate to file. Several factors, such as income or prospective debt, should be considered before filing, but if you meet the filing requirements and feel that you have more debt than you can pay, then now may be the right time.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Generally, if you have not filed bankruptcy before and file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy you will generally receive a discharge of your credit card debts and medical bills. Filing for bankruptcy generally will lower your credit score, but you can start to rebuild it upon receiving your discharge.

Answer Applies to: Kansas
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You may not need to liquidate your assets. If you are having trouble paying your bills consult with a lawyer. The initial consultation should be free, (in fact do not see someone who will charge for the initial consultation - that would be someone who is on the greedy side of the street).

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Choosing the right time to file your bankruptcy is extremely important in many cases. The most common timing issue at this time of year concerns your tax refunds for tax year 2011. If you file bankruptcy before you actually receive and properly spend your refund, you may lose that refund to the trustee in bankruptcy. If you wait to file your bankruptcy after receiving the refunds and properly spending them (talk to your attorney on how to properly spend the refund), the trustee can not get them (at least from you).

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Your question is a very good one. In general, I recommend that people file bankruptcy (a) when they can't deal with their financial problems without it and (b) just before things start like they look like they are getting better or at least at the point where it doesn't look like things are going to get worse. The point is that you can file bankruptcy only once every 8 years. So don't file now if you think things are going downhill. Remember, if you don't have anything, nobody can take anything away from you, any taxpayer for such purpose. No one, without our express prior written permission, may use or refer to any tax advice in this communication in promoting, marketing, or recommending a partnership or other entity, investment plan or arrangement to any other party.

Answer Applies to: Illinois
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

There is no right time to file for Chapter 7, but if creditors are calling, suing, and you know it will only get worse, then perhaps that is a good time to speak with a bankruptcy attorney. Many assets are protected in Chapter 7 such that you don't actually lose them. An analysis needs to be done to see if you qualify for a Chapter 7, and if so, then determine if any of your assets will be exposed for liquidation.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Many of my clients tell me that they waited to long to file for bankruptcy protection. I recommend that you not wait until you are being sued by creditors. If you are falling behind on your payments on debt or you are borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, then it may be time to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer. Most people do not lose any of their assets in bankruptcy because they are allowed to exempt and keep a certain amount of property. For the majority of people who file bankruptcy in Minnesota, the exemptions cover everything they own. A detailed analysis by a bankruptcy lawyer can tell you whether you are likely to have any assets liquidated.

Answer Applies to: Minnesota
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

There is no best time to file for bankruptcy, but some of the things you should take into account include whether you make more than the state median income, the number of people in your household, whether you have children, whether you own secured property, and whether your living expenses ate higher than average.

Answer Applies to: Illinois
Replied: 12/28/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

If your unsecured debt is more than 30% of your annual gross income, then you do not have enough money to ever pay your debts, and thus, should consider filing bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not as bad as you think. The best thing to do is to contact a bankruptcy attorney and discuss the situation.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You need to go to an attorney who will explain the process. The US Bankruptcy Code is Federal law. Each State determines the assets you keep when you file bankruptcy. In Florida, you may keep furniture, your home, vehicles, depending on the value, some jewelry, your retirement funds and other assets depending on the value. There is a long list. You do not have to give up all your assets when you file bankruptcy. In fact, if you own a home without a mortgage, it could be worth 5 million or more, free and clear of any debt, and if the home is situated on 1/2 acre, you would keep the home and still discharge all unsecured debt. Irs debt, credit card debt, hospital bills, medical bills, and even some IRS debt is dischargeable (meaning that you will no longer owe that debt). Your credit can be restored in 2-3 years and you could even purchase a home FHA afte 2.5 years.

Answer Applies to: Florida
Replied: 12/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

If you file a chapter 7, it will discharge your debts. But you need to be the one to decide if this is good for you.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You ask an excellent question. The timing of the bankruptcy is something you can control. You file bankruptcy when you believe you have no other choice i.e. you can't foresee paying your debts back or making a settlement with the creditors and you have assets that are either fully exempt or that you understand the risk of loosing to the trustee. There are quite a few considerations in deciding "if" to file and "when" to file. This question requires to sit down with someone who specializes in bankruptcy so that they not only balance your assets and your liabilities and review your budget but also take into consideration other issues that either require filing the bankruptcy immediately or that require that the filing be delayed until certain events have taken place.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Most people keep all or most of their assets in a Chapter 7. The best way to lose assets is to file pro se, because without a lawyer you may fail to correctly exempt exemptable assets. Instead of worrying, get a lawyer and things will likely be fine.

Answer Applies to: Georgia
Replied: 12/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You're mixing up terms. You want your debts eliminated, but you don't want your assets liquidated, as that means they are taken away and sold. However, most of your assets are probably exempt meaning they do not get sold off. You should probably speak to a bankruptcy attorney to make sure you can keep everything you own and if so, file.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You are allowed certain amount of exempt assets and the trustee will take whatever that is over the exemption limit.

Answer Applies to: Florida
Replied: 12/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Whether you get to keep property in bankruptcy depends on whether or not the property is exempt under state law. Generally, if the property is exempt, you get to keep it. Non-exempt property can be sold by the trustee to pay your creditors. However, doing so has to be 'worth it' to the bankruptcy trustee. If the costs associated with selling the property outweighs the estimated sale proceeds, the trustee may decide it isn't worth the trouble. Speak to an attorney about your concerns before filing bankruptcy.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.