Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Wisconsin

Unfortunately, a single spouse filing bankruptcy in WI without proper legal planning often causes severe problems for the nonfiling spouse due to the WI Marital Property Act. That act often gives the filing spouse's creditors (represented by the bankruptcy trustee) the right to seize any valuable assets owned by the non filing spouse, due to the automatic marital ownership in WI which is created at the moment of marriage unless you have the proper type of prenuptial agreement. Because the nonfiling spouse is not a "debtor" under the definitions in the bankruptcy code, he cannot claim the normal exemptions which are allowances that would normally allow you to retain "necessity of life" type items. These can include your home, other real estate, bank and investment accounts and even certain retirement accounts. You could also lose vehicles and any other personal possessions which have any significant value. You might therefore be far better off filing bankruptcy jointly with your spouse, which may allow you to claim fairly generous exemptions and retain most if not all of your assets. If eight years have not yet passed since your last chapter 7 filing, you may still be able to file a chapter 13. My comments in this public web forum are intended for public educational purposes only and are not legal advice, nor do they create an attorney client relationship between us. However, you are welcome to retain me and revisit these issues, at which time I would be happy to provide you with real legal advice.