Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Florida

You are permitted to exempt from the bankruptcy court your ownership interest in a car, up to a value of $1000. This means that if you have a car that's worth $2000, and you either own it outright or owe $1000 or less on an auto loan, you have too much equity in the car. The bankruptcy trustee could ask you to pay the extra amount to the bankruptcy court.

However, the good news is that if you also have an exemption for other personal property, up to $2000 if you own a home on which you have the homestead exemption, or $4000 if you do not. This means that you can exempt personal assets (including money in financial accounts, household goods, clothing, jewelry, etc...) up to this amount. If your assets are worth less than this, then you can apply the "extra" exemption value to the car, so you may not have to pay anything to the banrkruptcy court for the car.

These issues become complicated. It would be advisable to consult with a banruptcy attorney about the sitution. Our office handles a lot of bankruptcy cases and we offer a free initial consultation. We would be happy to discuss the case with you.