My clients usually want to know what property they will keep when they file bankruptcy in Georgia.
Clients wonder if the court or a creditor is going to come collect their house, car, and bank account when they file bankruptcy. Believe me when I tell you that it ain’t necessarily so.
There are many reasons for these fears:
Debt collectors lie and misstate the law. I sometimes meet clients who have been told by a debt collector that they are going to lose their couch, their car, their mother’s handmade quilt if they file. Clients have told me that debt collectors that they were going to jail for bad debt.
The media isn’t necessarily telling the truth about who files. Historically, the press does a pretty good job of portraying people who file as bankruptcy as deadbeat / downtrodden. I sometimes meet clients who just assume that filing bankruptcy means that they will be stripped down to a barrel and turned out onto the street to fend for scraps. This image has changed as more and more Americans have been forced to file, but it persists.
Bad advice. People get bad advice about what will happen if they file from all sorts of ‘helpful’ friends and neighbors. Do yourself a favor and consult with a real live bankruptcy attorney before you start believing what someone heard from the AM radio.
What happens to your property in the bankruptcy court is a two-pronged analysis that you and I will discuss at length:
1. Liquidation/Exemption Analysis
Our State exemptions gives you certain dollar exemptions that are designed to your property from liquidation by the trustee.
2. Analysis of Secured/Unsecured Status
The Bankruptcy Code gives you clear and fair pathways to keeping your secured property in either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
