Most people seeking bankruptcy protection are naturally concerned about their assets. Getting rid of your debt is great, but not necessarily if you lose your home, your car, your tax refunds, bank accounts, or other possessions. Protecting assets in bankruptcy is the main reason to hire a bankruptcy lawyer. Protecting assets in bankruptcy in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland what we do.
Most of our clients keep all of their assets. Lee Legal maximizes asset protection.
Protecting Assets in Bankruptcy in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland
To ensure that you do not lose any of your assets during a bankruptcy filing, consider Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A Chapter 13 usually does not require the surrender of any items. Chapter 13 involves the repayment of some portion of your debts over time. At the end of the repayment period, most clients are debt-free. For most people, Chapter 13 does not affect their assets at all.
An experienced attorney can help you to determine if there are solutions such as lien stripping or cram downs that can help you to keep your house and car without paying back 100 percent of your loans.
Protecting Assets Under Chapter 7
Protecting assets in Chapter 7 bankruptcy is more complicated. You may lose some of your personal items and property in Chapter 7 if you do not exempt them properly. Chapter 7 sometimes requires the trustee to seize assets to repay creditors. Many different kinds of assets are usually exempt from the forfeiture. Your bankruptcy lawyer will help you to determine if your assets are exempt or if they will need to be turned over.
Do not transfer valuable assets to friends or relatives to protect them during bankruptcy because the bankruptcy trustee can reverse those transactions. You may not, in other words, impoverish yourself just to avoid paying back creditors.
Bankruptcy Can Get Really Complicated Really Fast
An attorney can help you to determine the impact that a bankruptcy will have on your assets. You risk losing assets if you do no properly protect them in bankruptcy. Call Lee Legal to discuss bankruptcy asset protection in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland.