If you’re a Texas resident who is besieged by high debt levels brought on by factors beyond your control, you are undoubtedly pursuing debt relief.
In doing so, you have perhaps considered filing for bankruptcy, wondering while thinking about the process whether certain of your assets will be shielded from creditors.
The short answer to that question is this: The federal Bankruptcy Code does allow debtors in the bankruptcy process to protect certain assets from the reach of creditors. Deemed “exempt” assets, such property commonly includes a threshold amount of equity in a home, an automobile, occupational tools of trade and some home appliances and furnishings. Many states, including Texas, also have laws that list assets qualifying for protection from creditors.
A candid discussion with an experienced bankruptcy attorney will of course be materially helpful to any consumer seeking exemption-related answers. Such consultation can also help determine what type of bankruptcy — for example, Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 — will best promote the interests of a client.
The close and studied input of seasoned bankruptcy counsel is often of critical importance, given the complexity and evolving nature of bankruptcy law.
A recent example of what clearly qualifies as “big news” on the bankruptcy front is a United States Supreme Court ruling from just last week that speaks directly to the issue of exempt assets in a Chapter 7 filing.
In a unanimous opinion, the Court ruled that, while the money held in an IRA established and still held by an original account owner is protected from creditors, the funds in an IRA transferred to another party through inheritance are not.
That Court holding is obviously of high importance, given the likelihood that millions of Americans have already inherited or will inherit IRAs from parents or other loved ones.
Persons with questions or concerns about the Court’s ruling or any other bankruptcy-related matter can receive prompt and confidential information from a proven debt-relief attorney.
Source: Source: Source: Forbes, “Supreme Court finds inherited IRAs not protected in bankruptcy,” Deborah L. Jacobs, June 12, 2014