Explain wild card exemptions

[jb300]

I am still struggleing to get this going. I have my Pre BK certificate, thought I had found my attorney and didn't like him yesterday. So I have sent out 2 more emails different ones and see how I feel about them. I still have the option of the first one if nothing else. This will be 3 & 4 I am going to now.

Can someone explain what a wild card exemption is and how I can use it if I have that option? I live in Iowa.

Thanks.

[Naomi]

Here is a link to Iowa exemptions:

http://www.thebankruptcysite.org/exemptions/iowa.html

Sorry, I can't really answer your question. You're a step ahead of me...haven't even met with a lawyer yet.

Good luck and hope you find the right one.

[JoeBankrupt33]

You exempt everything you possibly can under other exemptions. If you end up with something that is not exempt, such as a pending tax refund or you have some cash in the bank, then you use the wildcard exemption for this. The wildcard doesn't have any exceptions. It can also be "stacked" with another exemption to cover one item. For instance, let's say that you have a car worth $8000 in Iowa. You can use the $7000 vehicle exemption then use the $1000 wild card to cover the rest.

[WillinVT]

You exempt everything you possibly can under other exemptions. If you end up with something that is not exempt, such as a pending tax refund or you have some cash in the bank, then you use the wildcard exemption for this. The wildcard doesn't have any exceptions. It can also be "stacked" with another exemption to cover one item. For instance, let's say that you have a car worth $8000 in Iowa. You can use the $7000 vehicle exemption then use the $1000 wild card to cover the rest.

Thank you for clearing that up. I have been wondering about this for quite sometime now. Vermont has a $2500 exemption for a vehicle and my 2004 Chevy Cavalier is worth about $3950. Even though my wife and I are filing together and our vehicle exemption now doubles, it is comforting to know how the Wild Card exemption works.

[jb300]

Does every state have this wildcard exemption? Also one of my issues and I don't know what for sure is going to happen is that I am buying a house on contract.

I bought it last June with a $5000. down payment I got from my life insurance cash value. This house is on a 3 year contract. Paid 25K for the house with 5K down and I owe about 14500 on it now. Here is the issue possibly, getting conflicting takes on this from attroneys.

Since I bought this house after I had some of this debt they say that the Trustee may try to make me pay some money to keep the house. One attroney said a part of the equity the other said part of what the house is worth. Those are 2 big difference even though it is not worth much. This house is in a very rural area, an hour from the nearest big town. Population of less than 200 people. Neighbor had house on market for a year and it didn't sell.

My house if I had kids at home yet would be unliveable yet. I have no kitchen yet and basically live in 3 rooms right now. This is going to take time to fix.

This house is bascially a shell that I am having to redo. It might be worth 10-12K and that is being generous. The tall story and a half part of this house has not been touched yet. This winter with no furnace and electric heat only it would be in the 40's when we woke up.

As hard as it may be for some of you to believe, I love my house and want to keep it.

If there is a wildcard exemption for IA can it be used for my house if I have to pay something?

I am going to try to attach some pictures.

I can't get the pictures to attach....


See it this works...http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/m...%20of%20house/

One more piece of information on this. The deed holder for this house at the courthouse is the person we are buying the house from. Also I was able to file for homestead exemption a month ago.