Bankruptcy exemptions help protect your property from being taken by creditors. Successfully filing for bankruptcy entitles you to a number of exemptions, enabling you hold on to your most important assets. At Todd Cushner & Associates, our bankruptcy litigation experts will work with you to ensure you receive all the bankruptcy exemptions you are entitled to.
New York State Bankruptcy Exemptions
Based in White Plains, New York, our bankruptcy attorneys have an in-depth knowledge of the bankruptcy exemptions available to residents throughout Westchester County. Depending on your specific financial situation, families and individuals living in Westchester can take advantage of many bankruptcy exemptions including:
- Car exemption of up to $4,000
- Matrimonial ring of up to $5,000
- Tools used for your job up to $3,000
- The equity of your home
- Payments received from past injury litigation
- Life insurance
- Social security benefits
- Retirement accounts such as IRAs
- Public benefits
- Health aids
- School textbooks
- Personal property such as clothing, household appliances, furniture, and entertainment systems
What If My Property Value Exceeds The Exemption Limit?
Our bankruptcy lawyers get asked this question all the time. So, hypothetically speaking, let’s say that your car is valued at $6,000, which is $2,000 more than the bankruptcy exemption limit. But since you have the $4,000 exemption available to you, you can still benefit from it.
In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you would have the option to keep your car by paying the creditors the $2,000 not eligible for exemption. Or you could have the car sold for the $6,000 value; in this scenario you would receive $4,000 and the creditors would receive $2,000.
In a Chapter 7 case (also known as a “straight bankruptcy” or a “liquidation”), the debtor is asking the Bankruptcy Court to release (“discharge”) him or her from personal liability from specific debts and to prohibit creditors from taking any further action against the debtor personally to collect those debts. If the debtor owns certain types of valuable property, he or she may be required to surrender it, so the property can be sold and the proceeds used to pay the creditors. However, items such as basic household furnishings, clothing, pension plans and retirement accounts are protected (“exempt”) to a certain extent and debtors are allowed to keep them.
In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you would be able to keep your car, paying off the nonexempt moneys over an extended period of time through a Chapter 13 payment plan.
Federal Bankruptcy Exemptions
In New York State, you have the ability to choose whether you want to use State or Federal bankruptcy exemptions; however, you may only choose one and cannot mix and match. At Todd Cushner & Associates, our bankruptcy lawyers will go over your specific financial situation, developing the best plan of action to save you the maximum amount of money.
