Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Virginia

Re: individual bankruptcy

You can file bankruptcy separately. You will need to list all of your debt (separate and joint), and you (but not she) will be discharged (she will remain liable on her debt and any joint debt). Her separate assets will not matter. Her income should not matter either, but may be taken into consideration in determining whether you are abusing the system (i.e., have enough household income to pay your debts). You can keep the car and house in a Chapter 7 if there is no equity (value less loan amount) remaining after any exemption is non-existent or less than a trustee would go to the trouble and expense of a sale for. Otherwise, you may need to consider Chapter 13, which will allow you to repay some or all of your debt over time. You should have a competent bankruptcy lawyer review your situation to see what will work best for you. Feel free to call if you want to discuss this further.