When you file for bankruptcy in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, an estate is created that includes everything you own as well as anything you are entitled to, such as a tax refund that you haven’t yet received. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the estate property is liquidated to repay your creditors. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must pay at least the amount that your creditors would have received in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. You can take advantage of exemptions to remove some of your property from the bankruptcy estate, protect some assets, and reduce the amount you must pay if your bankruptcy is a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Learn more about bankruptcy and bankruptcy exemptions in Texas by consulting promptly with an experienced Dallas bankruptcy lawyer.
The federal bankruptcy law allows you to exempt a generous amount of your property and assets. The states additionally have their own exemption laws. In Texas, you may choose to use either the federal exemptions or the exemptions specified by Texas bankruptcy law. You must choose one set of exemptions or the other, although some federal exemptions will always apply. If you are a married couple filing a joint bankruptcy, you are each entitled to separate exemptions, effectively doubling the exemption amount for property you co-own. Texas offers an unlimited homestead exemption for a residence on ten acres or less in a city, town, or village or one hundred acres or less in the country (two hundred for families). If you sell your home, the sales proceeds are exempt for six months. Texas law also allows you to exempt the entire value of one motor vehicle per household member.
Personal bankruptcy exemptions in Texas are generous, numerous, complicated, and depend to some extent on what you own and what you owe. For example, among other personal items, you can exempt two horses and twelve heads of cattle. The bottom line is that if you need to file for bankruptcy in Texas, you won’t lose everything, and you’ll actually be able to keep a lot of what you own. Learn more. If you are trapped in debt in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and you don’t see any way out, discuss your financial circumstances and your legal options at once with an experienced Dallas bankruptcy lawyer.
