A constant debate occurs between the exemptions allowed to keep an individual safe at the time of bankruptcy. Most states have the option of opting for federal exemptions (once mandated on the federal level) or state exemptions. State exemptions are created within each state’s constitution and statues and allow each state’s resident to keep certain assets for themselves. Each state has its own set of exemptions. Some …

Category: Property Exemptions

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… under the waves of financial overburden, and both state and federal law provide for property exemptions.  In other words, the law sets out a list of items that you can keep even after the bankruptcy process ends.

Texas allows consumers to choose to use either the federal exemption guidelines or the Texas exemptions.  The federal exemptions allow you to keep:

Your home up to $20,200

Life insurance payments for individuals you depend upon for support

Life insurance policy …

Category: Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , Dallas Bankruptcy Laws , Fort Worth Bankruptcy Laws , Property Exemptions , bankruptcy law

Tags: bankruptcy law chapter 7 Exemptions Texas

… Before you jeopardize everything, talk to a qualified bankruptcy attorney about property exemptions and how they apply to your situation.  A property exemption allows you to remove certain property from the bankruptcy process and out of the reach of creditors.  It is important when talking to a bankruptcy attorney that you make a complete list of everything that you own, and everything that you might own.  You’re probably wondering about the phrase “might own.”  Many …

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… work closely with a bankruptcy attorney to assure that assets are valued correctly and that all exemptions available are taken. A bankruptcy trustee will not guide a debtor through this process by “teaching” him/her about these exemptions. The debtor and his/her attorney is responsible for knowing which exemptions (and how much) they can take. Filing for bankruptcy is a detailed process with many rules that can trip up debtors if they are not working with an experienced bankruptcy …

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… of their property.  Every state, plus the federal bankruptcy code provides a generous amount of exemptions for debtors to use during bankruptcy.  Exemptions protect the debtor’s property from seizure during the bankruptcy process.  For example, in the state of Texas, the debtor’s homestead is exempt from seizure in bankruptcy, the debtor’s vehicle is exempt, plus a vehicle for every adult in the household is also exempt from seizure in bankruptcy.  Texas bankruptcy exemptions also …

Tags: Bankruptcy Exemptions Property

… discuss with your bankruptcy attorney because he/she may decide that your bankruptcy exemptions are better suited protecting other, more important assets.

If you file your taxes and receive your tax refund before filing bankruptcy your tax refund might not be considered as part of the bankruptcy estate.  This will be determined by how much of a tax refund you received and when you received it.  For example, if you received a $5,000 tax refund a …

Tags: Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Exemptions Tax Refund Taxes

Community property rules have positives and negatives, but if you live in Texas you have to abide by them.

When the subject of marriage and bankruptcy comes up, the next thing often mentioned is community property.  Depending upon where you live, this may or may not mean anything to you, but Texas is one of nine states that adheres to the community property rules.    An article on the …

Category: Bankruptcy , Property Exemptions , bankruptcy law

… veteran knew that he had already filled out an application for his homestead and older-than-65 exemptions, yet a mysterious company with a Fort Worth P.O. box was suggesting that he was overpaying his taxes and needed its help to get the exemptions. “I’m aware of those people, so I called everyone I could including the Better Business Bureau,” said Perez, who initially sent the Tarrant Appraisal District a hand-written note accusing it of repeatedly sending him the same information. …

Category: Fort Worth Attorney , Lawsuits , Property Exemptions

According to an article in the Dallas Morning News , sales of new homes surged 9.6 percent in July, an increase driven by the $8,000 federal tax incentive for buyers.

The article said:

“The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 from an upwardly revised June rate of 395,000. Sales are now up more than 30 percent from the bottom …

Category: Loans / Mortgages , Property Exemptions

According to an article in the Dallas Morning News , Dallas-area home prices have declined 4.1 percent in May from a year ago; but the decline has slowed compared to other cities.

The article said:

“Nationwide, the rate of home price decline is less dramatic than in recent months.

“The pace of descent in home values appears to be slowing,” Standard & Poor’s David Blitzer said …

Category: Economy , Property Exemptions , Subprime Mortgages

An article in the Star-Telegram highlights some great tax savings in store for taxpayers this year:

Property Tax deductions that allow homeowners to deduct state property taxes paid for 2008. For single filers, you can deduct up to an additional $500 and for joint filers you can deduct up to an additional $1000 on your Federal income tax refund. The amounts listed should be added to your …

Category: Property Exemptions

… to file individually regardless of whether they were married or not.

The act introduced more exemptions for filers.  Before the act, debtors had limited options and exemptions.  For the first time individuals had exemptions available that would many times allow the person to keep most, if not all, of their property.

The act allowed direct appeal to the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the first time.  This was subsequently changed in other bankruptcy legislation.

The act gave the …