Have your attorney object to the Trustee, if you have grounds.

Answer Applies to: Washington
Replied: 1/19/2012

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The Trustee can only keep unexempt property which has nothing to do with a lot of debt.

Answer Applies to: Michigan
Replied: 12/5/2011

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You need to exempt the assets in your petition per the bankruptcy code - make sure your schedules list all of your assets and also then exempt those same assets with the correct statute in order to protect them from liquidation. There is only a certain amount that you can claim as exempt.

Answer Applies to: Michigan
Replied: 12/5/2011

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That is totally incorrect. Some of your assets are exempt if you claimed them as exempt of Schedule C.

Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 12/5/2011

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If you had an attorney then he would have properly scheduled your exempt assets.Most attorney's do not "fix" others mistakes and if you find one you it will cost more than if you had retained competent counsel in the first place.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 12/4/2011

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The exemptions which are available are statutory, specific to certain property and have a dollar limit and must be claimed in Schedule C. If you do not have an exemption which applies to the property in question, or if the value of the asset is more than any exemption, even if one is available, the trustee can sell the property and pay creditors. The amount of debt doesn't matter.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/3/2011

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You can always keep exempt assets regardless of the amount of debt. I would think the trustee is referring to your non-exempt assets.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/3/2011

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You are entitled to all available exemptions but you you must claim them on Schedule C. The amount of debt has nothing to do with it.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/3/2011

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It sounds as though you filed pro se, or perhaps with a bankruptcy petition preparer. Did you claim your exemptions on Schedule C? Losing assets when you don't have to is the major pitfall of filing without an attorney.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/3/2011

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Exemption laws specify types and amounts of property that you can keep in a personal bankruptcy, regardless of the amount of debt you have.

Answer Applies to: Minnesota
Replied: 12/3/2011

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The trustee can not liquidate your assets because you have a lot of debt, they can seize assets that are not exempt under the bankruptcy code.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 12/3/2011

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You can only exempt so much asset in any bankruptcy, so evidentially you have more assets than can be exempted. If you had talked to a bankruptcy attorney before filing she would have explained this to you.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/2/2011

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No one should ever file bankruptcy pro se. The fact that you do not understand exemptions and also completely misunderstood the trustee should tell you that you need to IMMEDIATELY get a lawyer and see how badly you have messed up and whether your mistakes are fixable. What you can exempt is set by law. The amount of your debt has very little to do with exemptions. Let me stress: you have created a legal emergency. You must get a lawyer. It may or may not be too late for you to get help.

Answer Applies to: Georgia
Replied: 12/2/2011

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Your properly exempted assets cannot be taken by the trustee or anyone else. The trustee can object to your exemptions on specific legal grounds and you have the right to a court hearing on the trustee's objection because the decision is ultimately made by the Court. Therefore, it may be that you claimed the wrong exemptions or that your exemptions do not cover all of your assets. If you have a lawyer and you told the lawyer the whole truth and nothing but the truth about your assets, then you should not lose anything in bankruptcy that you did not know before filing the case. If you filed without a lawyer then hopefully others will learn from your experience that you should have a lawyer represent you. On the other hand, if you do have a lawyer and told him/her about all of your assets and the lawyer did not tell you that you would likely lose assets, then I would call that legal malpractice because it is the lawyer's obligation to inform you of the risks. The fact that you owe a lot does not affect whether or not your assets can be exempted (protected). Therefore, you must have misunderstood the trustee as to the reason he or she is taking your assets. Again, the trustee can only take assets that are not properly exempted as permitted by California and federal law.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/2/2011

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You need to file Chapter 13.

Answer Applies to: Georgia
Replied: 12/2/2011

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Everyone is entitled to exemptions by law. In 30 years of practices as a bankruptcy attorney, I have never seen or heard of a case in which all assets of the debtor were liquidated. You should be able to keep at least some of your assets.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/2/2011

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I cannot imagine that any trustee would assert that a debtor is not entitled to exempt assets merely because of the amount of debt incurred. The amount of debt is irrelevant to whether certain assets can be claimed as exempt from seizure. So, the answer to your question is "no," assets cannot be liquidated simply because of the amount of debt incurred by the debtor is high. I think you probably misunderstood what the Trustee told you at the creditor's meeting.

Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 12/2/2011

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It is impossible for anyone not in the room with you to know exactly what was said or the context of the Trustee's statements. Federal Law makes certain assets exempt no matter what the circumstances. Of course you may not *have* any exempt assets. If so then of course all your assets are vulnerable to appropriation and sale. But your Attorney ought to have checked your State's exemptions and applicable Federal exemptions before filing your case. And if all else fails, consider converting the case from a Chapter 7 liquidation to a Chapter 13 reorganization in which you can retain your assets.

Answer Applies to: Illinois
Replied: 12/2/2011

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No that's not right. There is no debt limit in chapter 7, although there is one for chapter 13, even if you exceed the limit, the trustee should not take away your exempt assets, most they can do is force you into chapter 11 or you can dismiss your case voluntarily. Maybe he meant your claimed exemptions exceeded the allowed exemption limit - $1k for personal property, $1k for car, and an additional $4k if you're not claiming homestead exemption. File an objection if it's not the case.

Answer Applies to: Florida
Replied: 12/2/2011

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You need to discuss exemptions with your bankruptcy attorney. This is why it can be very dangerous to file without competent help. The exemptions you are allowed to claim will varry depending on what state you live in when you file and where you have lived within the two and a half years before you file. There are certainly some exemptions that apply to you, but there may be no exemptions that apply to the type of property you own. You need to discuss the situation with your attorney to determine if there is a way to protect your property.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 12/2/2011

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In California almost all of your personal property, and some equity in cars and homes is exempt, and the trustee cannot do anything about that. Your petition should have claimed those exemptions, and if it didn't you should amend it.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/2/2011

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If a trustee is going to liquidate all of your assets you may want to consider converting your case to chapter 13. Also, consult with an attorney to find out if you have claimed appropriate exemptions.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 12/2/2011

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You are entitled to exemptions in most cases but they need to be properly claimed. Your attorney should be dealing with this.

Answer Applies to: Washington
Replied: 12/2/2011

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Your exempt assets are exempt. However, you must file a statement with your petition claiming the exemptions appropriate for the property which you are allowed to keep, even if you have substantial debt. It is not the amount of the debt, but the accuracy of the claimed exemptions that decides what you keep or give to the trustee for liquidation and thenthosemonies distributed to your creditors.

Answer Applies to: Florida
Replied: 12/2/2011

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.