IS BANKRUPTCY RIGHT FOR ME?

Hi BE30

The following is a listing of most of the Florida Exemptions in which each adult Debtor can use to exempt property, in whole or in part, when filing for Bankruptcy in Florida:

• Real Estate/Real Property- real property including mobile home to unlimited value, provided that the property does not exceed applicable acreage restrictions.
  
• Personal Property/Household Goods - to $1,000 per person
  
• Automobile up to $1,000 per person.
  
• Insurance/Annuities (unlimited value)- annuity contract proceeds, death benefits payable to a specific beneficiary, not the deceased's estate, disability or illness benefits, fraternal society benefits, cash surrender value of life insurance
  
• Pensions/Retirement Plans - county officers, county employees, ERISA, police officers and firefighters, state officers, state employees, teachers, IRA, 401(K), Keogh accounts
  
• Public Benefits/Entitlements - veterans' benefits, workers' compensation, crime victims' compensation, public assistance, social security, unemployment compensation
  
• Wages - Head of Household earnings with certain restrictions.
  
• Tax Refunds - Tax refunds and earned income credits.
  

• Personal property in excess of $1,000 per person.
  
• Value of vehicles in excess of $1,000 per person.
  
• Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposits.
  
• Business assets, tools of trade, shares of a corporation, subject to certain factual circumstances.
  

[quote=BE30]I am been looking into my debts since my divorce which has left me with about $15K in debt mostly cards, but one is a repo. I live in TX and do not have a home or a car payment, and I am thinking about filing CH. 7. I have a few mutual funds worth maybe $1K and a life insurance policy with a cash value of about $2,500. Does anyone know if these things are exempt because I have NOTHING elese to sell? I barely have money left over at the end of the month and CH. 7 looks good, but the word bankruptcy scares me. Anyone out there have any suggestions or experience in this?[/quote]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear about this difficult situation that you find yourself in. But I believe that there is hope for you to find a way out of your situation.


First, I must ask, are you completely resigned to bankruptcy? Or are you open to any alternatives. Because, I believe that you should try your hand at consolidating your debt. I have seen people with more debt over 15 grand have success with consolidating.


So, I think that you should look into this alternative. Consolidating this debt would allow you to reduce the interest rates on your debts. These rates are hampering your ability to eliminate these debts. Especially since they probably increased your interest rates when you became late with your payments.


So, I think that consolidation is the best way for you to go. Because bankruptcy is a very strong stain that would remain on your credit report. It would drag down your credit score and hamper your ability to get credit in the future.


Furthermore, even though you file for bankruptcy, you will still be responsible for those debts. If you have the capability to pay, you will be compelled to pay for those debts after your bankruptcy. So, you should not expect a complete fresh start after the bankruptcy. This was one of the recent changes made to the bankruptcy laws. So, you should carefully evaluate your decision to file for bankruptcy.

[quote=benjaminz6][quote=BE30]I am been looking into my debts since my divorce which has left me with about $15K in debt mostly cards, but one is a repo. I live in TX and do not have a home or a car payment, and I am thinking about filing CH. 7. I have a few mutual funds worth maybe $1K and a life insurance policy with a cash value of about $2,500. Does anyone know if these things are exempt because I have NOTHING elese to sell? I barely have money left over at the end of the month and CH. 7 looks good, but the word bankruptcy scares me. Anyone out there have any suggestions or experience in this?[/quote]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear about this difficult situation that you find yourself in. But I believe that there is hope for you to find a way out of your situation.


First, I must ask, are you completely resigned to bankruptcy? Or are you open to any alternatives. Because, I believe that you should try your hand at consolidating your debt. I have seen people with more debt over 15 grand have success with consolidating.


So, I think that you should look into this alternative. Consolidating this debt would allow you to reduce the interest rates on your debts. These rates are hampering your ability to eliminate these debts. Especially since they probably increased your interest rates when you became late with your payments.


So, I think that consolidation is the best way for you to go. Because bankruptcy is a very strong stain that would remain on your credit report. It would drag down your credit score and hamper your ability to get credit in the future.


Furthermore, even though you file for bankruptcy, you will still be responsible for those debts. If you have the capability to pay, you will be compelled to pay for those debts after your bankruptcy. So, you should not expect a complete fresh start after the bankruptcy. This was one of the recent changes made to the bankruptcy laws. So, you should carefully evaluate your decision to file for bankruptcy.[/quote]


So, you should consider consolidating. Do you have a steady stream of income in which you could use to make the monthly payments?

With consolidation, all of your loans will be consolidated with one loan company. And all you have to do is make one monthly payment with one company. This payment will go towards your debts that have been lowered due to the reduction of your interest rates.

In addition to this, there are a few other fiscally responsible measure that you can take in order to h6elp out your situation.

First, you could make a budget for yourself. You should try to account for all of the small-large daily expenses that you regularly pay for. This would help to guide you towards what you have to buy and what you should avoid purchasing. Small unnecessary expenses can add up and take away from the money that you should be using for paying for your debts. So, you should try to make a budget.


I strongly feel that you should not cash/ sell your mutual funds and life insurance. You never know what can occur in the future. So, you need that cushion in order to protect your future. You do not want to risk your security in the future in order to pay a few debt collectors. There are better ways to take care of these financial issues.

So please keep us updated on your situation and let us know how things turn out.