A bankruptcy estate consists of all of the property that a debtor has at the time of the filing of his bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy estate comes into existence when a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy is filed.
Some of the items included in the estate are:
- Real Estate;
- Furnishings;
- Vehicles;
- Retirement plans;
- Clothing;
- Lawsuits or other causes of action;
- Property left to an individual in a will or inherited within 180 days of filing for bankruptcy.
Even though you must disclose all of your assets, many of the items in your estate are exempt from administration.
If items are exempt you are able to keep it them.
Even when the property cannot be exempted it may be of little monetary value to the trustee and will be abandoned back to the debtor.
A debtor who fails to list all of his property runs the following risks:
- Having his discharge either denied or revoked;
- Having otherwise exempt items lose their exempt status;
- In extreme circumstances, fines and jail time.
The assets in your bankruptcy estate usually vary from State to State.
Contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney.
by Kevin Gipson, New Orleans, Louisiana bankruptcy lawyer.
