Filing For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy In Florida
From the beginning we must mention the fact that filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy is not the same in every American state. Some attorneys say that Florida is the most liberal state and that you can keep more property in this state than in any other one. All this is true because Florida has a different bankruptcy exemptions chart. An exemption is a thing that cannot be confiscated and sold by the Court in case of bankruptcy. Florida Bankruptcy Exemptions The bankruptcy exemptions chart details the property you can protect or exempt from creditors when you file bankruptcy. You are allowed to exempt any property from one of the exemptions categories, up to a certain dollar amount which appears in the same document. The idea is that you will keep this exempted property after you file bankruptcy. If you want to keep non-exempt property, you must normally pay the value of the non-exempt property. In Florida, Chapter 7 bankruptcy law allows you to keep: · Any professionally prescribed health aids · Any personal property, up to $1,000 in value (Husband and wife may double) · Alimony · Crime victim and workers' compensation · Retirement plan and life insurance proceeds · Unemployment, disability, veterans' and social security benefits · Business partnership property etc You can find the complete list of Florida bankruptcy exceptions here http://www.floridabankruptcylaws.com/exemptions.html . The law allows married couples filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy jointly, a full set of exemptions to each claim, unless something else is decided by the bankruptcy judge. If you file bankruptcy in Florida, you should also use Federal Exemptions which are supplementing the Florida Exemptions. These federal exemptions can be used in conjunction with the Florida bankruptcy exemptions that we have mentioned just before. Debt that "survives" filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida On the other hand, there is a list of debt that "survives" bankruptcy like: - tax debts ; -student loans ; -fines and penalties for violating the law; -alimony obligations, back child support and other debts dedicated to family support; -debts for personal injury or death caused by driving while intoxicated; -any other debt not listed in the bankruptcy papers; Of course, the list is not exhaustive and cannot be because there is whole bunch of debts that can be declared non-dischargeable if the creditor objects to your request to discharge them (credit purchases for luxury goods or services, within 60 days of filing bankruptcy, for example). Statistics regarding filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida If we look at the statistics on filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida, we will observe that there were 107,872 bankruptcy filings in 2005, while only 42,475 in 1996. More interesting would be to compare 2005 and 2006 Florida Bankruptcy Filing Statistics: if in 1995 we have 107,872 in 2006 (after the new low is promulgated) we have only 25,700 (source: the American Bankruptcy Institute - www.abiworld.org). The reasons for that important change have been thoroughly studied, and most experts agree that they don't mean that the new law "worked" and consumer bankruptcy filings have radically declined, never to rise again. |
