If I file an Oregon Bankruptcy will I lose my property?
What are exemptions?
Most people that file for bankruptcy in Oregon are able to keep most, if not all, of their personal and real property. Exemptions are state or federal laws that protect your property from creditors and bankruptcy trustees. Oregon allows the use of both state and federal exemptions for its residents in bankruptcy if you have lived in Oregon long enough. If you have not yet lived in Oregon for two years consecutively, then we will need to discuss if you can use the federal exemptions or if another state’s exemptions may be required in your Oregon bankruptcy filing.
Most people that I have represented in Oregon have been able to fully exempt most if not all of their personal and real property. This means they did not lose anything in their bankruptcy case. The two biggest trouble areas are usually tax refunds and cars that have too much equity. Below is a list of many of the Oregon exemption laws. If you have not lived in Oregon for at least 2 years, other state or the federal exemption laws may apply. Upon retaining me, one of the services provided to you will be an analysis of the proper exemptions to use.
Even if your property is worth more than the amounts listed below, or if you have more equity than is listed below, all may not be lost. One must also factor in the costs of sale by a trustee and the trustee’s commissions to fully evaluate exemptions. Also, in many cases a bankruptcy trustee will be willing to work out a payment plan with you to keep your non-exempt property. In addition, if you have property that we simply cannot exempt in a chapter 7, you can consider filing chapter 13 to protect that property.
Oregon Exemption Laws
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