Bankruptcy Exemptions: What Can I Keep?

For those individuals interested in filing for bankruptcy, a major concern is what will become of their assets and personal property during the procedure.  Without exemptions, most or all of the individual's assets would become property of the bankruptcy estate and could be subject to liquidation by the Bankruptcy Trustee to repay creditors.  Exemption allow the individual to retain much of their property, by removing it from the bankruptcy estate.  Each state will have their own exemption lists and there are federal exemptions as well.  As an example, an individual filing for bankruptcy in Grand Rapids, Michigan would be able to choose between utilizing Michigan State Exemptions or Federal Exemptions, depending on which is more beneficial.  

It is recommended to set up a consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney to better understand how exemptions could benefit you.

Bankruptcy: Debt owed to the unemployment agency?

If you owed money to the Michigan Unemployment Agency, you might want to give my office a call.

First off, if a determination was made between Oct. 1, 2013, and Aug. 7, 2015 that you owe for back unemployment compensation, Michigan will no longer attempt to collect these alleged "over-payments," unless the cases were individually reviewed by a human and affirmed with a new notice to the claimant. So if that is you, take a deep breath.

For all others, you can file either a Ch 7 or Ch 13 bankruptcy and one of two things will happen: (1) Michigan does nothing, and the full amount is forgiven under the Bankruptcy Code, (2) Michigan files a Complaint, and then we enter into a settlement.

But how much would the settlement be for? As you may already know, if Michigan is claiming an over-payment, they will demand that you repay them that amount, plus a x5 penalty. So if Michigan claims you were over-payed $5,000, they will also demand you pay them a $25,000 penalty, for a grand total of $30,000. If we enter into a settlement, by default Michigan will accept the original over-payment amount, plus a x1 penalty. As a result, you would owe $10,000 instead of $30,000.  And we can negotiate a manageable repayment amount, based on your circumstances. 

More questions, contact me today.