equity exemption HELP

[paul123]

ok, i live in indiana, i paid $45,000 for my house and owe $10,000 on the mortgage.
i want to file chapter 7 on credit cards and cell phone bills and keep my home.
i don't think the exemptions are enough to cover the equity, so could i use "liquidation" value on my house and then have enough exemptions to cover the equity?
and honestly my home is not worth $45,000 if i had to do a quick sale.

[momofthree]

Here is a link to IN exemptions: http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankrup...T=IN#homestead

Homestead exemption is $17600 (married couples may double), so if you're married, all of your equity is exempt. If you're single, you may still be able to exempt your home using the wildcard of $9350 in addition to the homestead. Getting an accurate valuation for a quick sale is a good first step.

[helpmeout]

The first thing that you need to do is determine what your actual equity is. You don't go by what you paid for it unless it was a very recent purchase. What I did was contacted a couple of real estate agents and had them do a fair market evaluation. I was upfront with the reason for it. Only one provided me with what I asked for. You may find that you don't have as much equity as you think.

If you don't have enough exemptions to cover the equity, you will need to come up with that money. Or do a Chapter 13. Consulting with a few BK lawyers is probably a very good idea.