Answer:

One of the primary questions that our clients ask us is what assets are protected in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Georgia. There’s a term called exempt property. It’s a term that attorneys use that most people would never use in their ordinary language. Exempt assets are basically assets that the state of Georgia has determined that, no matter what happens, you can protect these assets from your creditors.

Georgia has established a particular bankruptcy statute that lines out those assets. For instance, you can protect from $1,500 of equity in your house. You can protect up to $5,000 of equity in an automobile, $2,000 equity if you cash your regular life insurance policy, $1,200 in tools of the trade, $1,200 in other assets that you might have. There’s a smattering of other type of protections.

One of the big protections is retirement plans. You can always protect unlimited amounts of monies in retirement plans that are tax-exempt, for instance, 401(k), your employee provided retirement plan. IRAs and other types of retirement plans are always fully protected. If you have any questions concerning what assets are protected and what assets are not protected, you can give our office a call. We can send you a complete itemization sheet exactly from the Georgia code.