St. Louis Bankruptcy Lawyers Blog
The primary situation in which someone loses an asset (like a car) through the bankruptcy process is when the asset has a great deal of equity. In other words, if the sale of your asset will result in a windfall, then it is possible that the Bankruptcy Trustee would wish to take possession of the item and sell it. But that is why it is so important to make sure that you hire a good St. Louis bankruptcy lawyer to help you through the process (to ensure that keep your assets).
ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY FEES $675
So how do you ensure that you keep your assets? First of all, it is important to note that the main job of the Trustee (the person who works for the government and administers your bankruptcy estate once your case is filed) is to find any assets you have that have a good deal of un-exempt equity. That could be a paid-in-full car, a bank account with a sizable amount of funds, or a pending personal injury suit.
And if that is the main job of the Trustee, then the main job of your St. Louis bankruptcy attorney is to protect your assets (so that they remain in your safe keeping). Your attorney will do that primarily by way of making use of statutory exemptions. For instance, in the state of Missouri, an individual is given a $3,000 exemption to cover any motor vehicles. So let’s say you have filed a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy. And you have an ownership interest in a 2012 Ford Edge. The average value of such an automobile is around $12,500. And let’s also assume that you are financing the vehicle with an outstanding loan balance of $10,000. As you can see, there is about $2,500 of equity in your car. And since the state of Missouri allows for an exemption in a motor vehicle of $3,000, that equity is covered. So by making use of this exemption, your car will be safe (because if there is no equity, then the Trustee will take a pass on it).
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This is the basic idea behind the use of exemptions in a St. Louis bankruptcy. Although it has been described here in a fairly straightforward fashion, most people do not know which exemptions (there are nearly one hundred of them in Missouri alone) to use for which items/assets. And if you choose the wrong one (or do not apply any exemptions at all), then you are putting your assets in jeopardy.
The affordable St. Louis bankruptcy attorneys at The Bankruptcy Company have been saving and protecting people’s assets for years. Our goal is to make sure that you keep the assets and property you want, discharge the debts that you want to get rid of, and do it all at an affordable cost to you. All phone conversations and office consultations are free of charge.