Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

Re: bank accts

If you are filing Chapter 13, the Trustee will not take anything. That is one of the reasons people file Chapter 13 ... to make sure they can retain all their assets. However, you must offer your creditors in your Chapter 13 Plan as much as they would have received had you filed a Chapter 7. So, if you don't have a lot of equity in your home, you could probably protect up to $20,000 in a bank account in a Chapter 7.

Re: bank accts

There is a limit on the debt you can have in a Chapter 13: approx $300k unsecured and approx $1 million secured. If you propose a payment plan to pay back 100% of your unsecured debts, then the trustee will not take anything. However, should you propose a plan that pays less than 100%, the trustee can take non-exempt assets if the value of those assets exceeds the amount you are paying in your chapter 13 plan.

Chapter 13's are complicated and you should talk to an attorney and have him analyze your entire financial situation to determine what your best course of action is.