Protect Your Assets in Bankruptcy

Published June 23, 2021 | By Robert S. Simonian

You can protect your assets in bankruptcy. Sometimes it is tempting for a debtor in bankruptcy to hide assets from the bankruptcy trustee and court. This means not including them in the schedule of assets or schedule of exemptions and not telling the trustee about them. This is usually when an asset is important to a debtor. It may be because they think nobody knows about it and think they can hide it from the bankruptcy trustee.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy filers tempted to leave out assets of the bankruptcy schedules should reconsider. A requirement is full disclosure. Listing all property is a requirement. You must swear to this. Also they must take an oath at the meeting of creditors. If you haven’t disclosed all of your assets you will commit perjury.

Maintaining The Assets You Have

Penalties for committing perjury include time in prison and or fines. Also, the bankruptcy trustee will seize the asset and liquidate it to pay your creditors. Amending the schedule of exemptions to apply exemptions toward the concealed assets is not likely if you purposely did not disclose the asset. It is never advisable to hide an asset.

Telling the bankruptcy court that you told your attorney about the asset but the attorney said it didn’t have to be listed usually does not work. It usually does not work to say the lawyer forgot to list the asset. You must read and sign a disclosure. This states that you are aware that it is illegal to hide or not disclose assets. Attorneys should review the bankruptcy petition with you to make sure all assets are listed.

Bankruptcy debtors do not have the right to dismiss their bankruptcy case because they don’t want to complete the process. Once bankruptcy proceedings have begun, the debtor must show good cause for dismissing the case. Trustees that find concealed assets are not likely to dismiss a case.

Asset Exemptions

The only legal way to protect assets in bankruptcy from Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation is to apply one of the many available exemptions toward the asset. State and federal law allow bankruptcy debtors to keep certain types and quantities of assets after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

There are a number of exemptions in under Massachusetts bankruptcy law to protect your property and assets. The bankruptcy exemptions are generous and very rarely does anyone lose property.

Use of bankruptcy exemptions allows an experienced bankruptcy attorney to protect all of your assets. Almost all cases have property that is fully protected. The bankruptcy exemptions are generally very generous and are enough to protect people’s assets in most cases. Chapter 13 bankruptcy protects assets not protected in chapter 7. This allows one to keep the asset.

If you’re considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy call a bankruptcy lawyer. Let an experienced bankruptcy attorney help you identify legal strategies for keeping those assets. In Massachusetts bankruptcy attorney Robert Simonian and bankruptcy Anthony Bucacci can help you keep your assets. We can resolve their debt and insolvency issues in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Call Bucacci & Simonian at 508-673-9500 or visit our website at www.massbklaw.com

BANKRUPTCY – UNDECIDED OR UNSURE WHAT TO DO?

Talk To Us About Your Options:

We always tell potential clients to talk to us first to see if bankruptcy is in their best interest. The consultation is always free. Talk with Attorney Robert Simonian or Attorney Anthony Bucacci in private and in total confidentiality to see if filing bankruptcy in Massachusetts is right for you.

We can almost always come up with a solution to your financial problem. We have filed over 10,000 cases in the past 26 years and there are very few scenarios that we have not seen. We are known for our hard work, diligence, creativity and problem solving abilities. Often we are the bankruptcy attorneys other attorneys come to with difficult cases. Call today to see what we can do for you and what options are available. Often people believe they are the only ones with financial problems and are embarrassed of their situation. This is simply not true and many famous people have had to file for bankruptcy to get a fresh start.

Why Call Bucacci & Simonian:

We are known as one of the best bankruptcy attorneys in Southeastern Massachusetts serving the Bristol County and Plymouth County areas. Please inquire with anyone as to our reputation. Reputation is everything and we are very proud of ours. We have received numerous awards from various agencies and courts including the Bankruptcy Court in Boston, Massachusetts.

Using our knowledge and skill we have had several clients complete their five year Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans where they own their home FREE & CLEAR OF MORTGAGES. We understand how important it is to save clients’ homes from foreclosure, keep their cars from being repossessed and stop creditors from suing them and attaching their wages or attempting to seize their assets. This can be stopped almost instantly and we make every effort to be very available to your clients and can accommodate emergency situations. One of our most famous cases involved saving a clients’s multi-family home. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1863802/in-re-brizida/

What to Avoid:

Do not attempt to file for bankruptcy on your own. You can make your situation much, much worse. If the bankruptcy petition is not correct you could lose your home, your car or possessions or you could be asked to file a different kind of bankruptcy where you have to make monthly payments when it could have been avoided. If you are not properly represented a bankruptcy trustee may foreclose on your house, allow your car to be repossessed, seize a tax refund or other assets. You could file under the wrong chapter, apply the wrong exemptions, fail to file all of the necessary forms or not understand the significance of important forms.

Protect Yourself:

Call us today for a free and complete bankruptcy consultation. We can protect you from your creditors and protect your home, cars, jewelry and other assets. Creditors and collection lawyers have a job to do and it may seem that they are heartless and will take anything they can from you. They are represented and you should be too. Call us today. The Federal Bankruptcy Court indicated that seeking the advice of a qualified attorney is strongly recommended. https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy/filing-without-attorney