Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Virginia

Re: Should I consider Bankruptcy

In Virginia, there is a limited exemption for

qualified plan balances. There is very

likely enough exemption to permit you to exempt

your vehicle. There is a very good chance that

you could end up keeping all of you pension

and your vehicle, but the only way to find

out for sure is to run the computations of the

amount of available exemption in a bankruptcy.

Incidentally, you may wish to contact AmeriDebt

to see if they can help you outside of bankruptcy.

We have had a good success rate placing individuals

with AmeriDebt if their only financial problem

is excess credit card debt. Even if you do end

up signing with AmeriDebt or some other similar

organization, you can always file bankruptcy later.

Re: Should I consider Bankruptcy

Yes, you should consider bankruptcy - not necessarily file, but certainly meet with a bankruptcy lawyer to explore your options. 401(k) plans are absolutely exempt, as are IRA's and all ERISA qualified plans. Other retirement plans may be fully exempt, or may be exempt only up to an age-adjusted limit, so you need to carefully go over the details with experienced bankruptcy counsel. As for your car, in VA there is a $2000 exemption for equity in your car, plus a general exemption (homestead) of $5000 + $500 per dependent that can be used for any property, including a car. What you look at is the equity in the car, not its value - if there is a loan secured by the car, you only need to exempt the portion of the value above the loan amount. You only risk losing the car if it is worth more than the car loan plus the exemption. Of course, you have to keep paying on the car loan.