Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Wisconsin

Retaining Home in WI After Filing Bankruptcy, Mortgage Foreclosures, Chapter 13

Filing bankruptcy generally has nothing to do with whether or not one must vacate one's residence. Mortgage foreclosures are a different story--that process often takes a year or longer, during which time you may remain in your residence cost free (except for utilities), or even rent it out under some circumstances and retain the rents. A chapter seven only delays this process briefly, but a 13 bankruptcy can stop foreclosure permanently and reinstate your mortgage, provided that you resume your payments and pay an additional "catch up" payment via the bankruptcy trustee. You therefore need to speak with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer as soon as possible. In bankruptcy (as opposed to foreclosures), debtor's are allowed to retain $40,000.00 net (after paying all liens and expenses) equity in a homestead under WI law, regardless of filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. They cannot be thrown out by the trustee unless he is able to sell it and net considerably more than that amount after paying all mortgages, liens and property taxes. In that event, you would get a $40,000.00 check back from him with which to buy a new home. You would be allowed to remain there while that process was investigated, which could literally take years. During the current housing market slump, I doubt that many trustees would even bother to attempt such a sale unless there was likely to be an amount in excess of double the forty thousand left over, in which event they would abandon their interest back to you.