Gadsden Law Firm Focuses on Alabama Bankruptcy Proceedings

Alabama Bankruptcy Attorneys Help Clients Keep Their Property

Those filing for bankruptcy in Alabama will follow the process outlined under federal law, although each state has different bankruptcy exemptions – laws that protect your property and allow you to keep it in bankruptcy. You will likely be allowed to retain the exempt property, but you’re likely to lose it in a chapter 7 bankruptcy or be required to pay for it in a chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Alabama Bankruptcy exemptions

Alabama’s bankruptcy exemptions include:

• Homestead. Petitioners will be allowed to keep up to $16,450 in equity and up to 160 acres of real estate and the residence on it.
• Personal property. An individual or family’s burial plot or church pew, clothing, family portraits, pictures, and books.
• Motor vehicle. Alabama has no specific motor vehicle exemption.
• Retirement accounts and benefits. Simple IRAs, Roth IRAs, retirement accounts qualified under Internal Revenue Service code, State Employees’ Retirement Systems accounts and benefits, and Teachers’ Retirement System accounts and benefits.
• Public benefits. Earned income tax credit.
• Wages and income. 75 percent of wages or 30 times the federal minimum wage.
• Tools of the trade. Uniforms and arms of military personnel.
• Wildcard. Up to $8,225 of any personal property (including motor vehicles), except for wages.

Your bankruptcy trustee will review your exemptions and if any irregularities are observed, attempt to resolve the issue informally. If a resolution cannot be reached, the trustee will file an objection with the bankruptcy court, and the judge will determine whether or not you will be allowed to keep your property.

Contact an Experienced Gadsden, Al Bankruptcy Attorney

Are you considering bankruptcy but need to weigh your legal options? Contact the Gadsden, Alabama bankruptcy attorneys at the Bond & Botes Law Offices online or call 1-877-581-3396 to schedule a free initial consultation today.