Legal Question in Bankruptcy in New York

Re: chapter 7

Well, that would be dishonest.

You are going to claim in your Chapter & petition that you have no income, no resources to obtain income, and yet you have a car worth $6,500 that you can obviously do without.

Antoinette M. Wooten, Esq.

Re: chapter 7

There are many things which can be done prior to bankruptcy with good planning.

If you would like to consult with me, please feel free to do so.

Re: chapter 7

In New York, you can only exempt up to $2,400 worth of equity in a car. I assume you are thinking about selling your car because it could be in jeopardy of being liquidated by a Chapter 7 trustee.

You can sell your car prior to filing. However, you would have to sell if for fair market value, and ideally in an arms-length transaction.

Then, after selling, you would need to carefully spend down the funds in a good faith manner consistent with bankruptcy law so that your total liquid assets did not exceed $2,500, which is the exemption for liquid assets.

Since you want to engage in what's commonly referred to as pre-bankruptcy planning or exemption planning, you would be best off seeking the advice of an experienced bankruptcy attorney.

Also, the trustee at the meeting of creditors will surely ask about the sale and how you spent the proceeds. For more information about handling questions at the meeting of creditors, please check out the article at: http://www.bankruptcycanhelp.com/published-articles/2004-04-S-Hearings-Part1.php