Federal exemptions

[sailing2013]

Hola amigos,

In a previous thread, my legal residency has been discussed; and it appears I may not be able to use California's exemptions since I have been living abroad for two years.

I have only been entertaining the idea of BK for a couple weeks now, so right now I'm a little overwhelmed by the boatloads of information.

One item I'm having a hard grasping is the federal exemptions. If this is the total sum of my assets, would I be able to exempt all of it:

CASH: $6K
AIRLINE TICKETS: $2K
GIFT CARDS: $2K
PREPAID RENT: $1K
PERSONAL ITEMS: $1.5K

TOTAL: $12.5

Thank you. Wouldn't know what to do without the generous guidance of this board's members!

Cheers,
Steve

[sailing2013]

Wait, now I read something where California doesn't allow you to use the federal exemptions? How can that be?

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

If I can't use California's exemptions, and California won't let me use the federal one's, what the heck are my options?!?

[dina13]

We filed using Federal exemptions this summer. If I remember correctly, you have up to $10,825 of unused homestead exemption that could be applied to any property. Plus, you also have a wildcard of $1,150. In addition to that, up to $11,525 for personal property such as clothing, books, furniture, etc., plus jewelry exemption up to $1,450. So I think you'll be more than covered using Federal exemptions.

[ValleYum]

You can use the unused portion of the homestead exemption as a wildcard Federal exemption set. It doesn't matter whether you own a home or not to be able to use it as a wild card. Amount is currently $10,825.

There is also a straight up wild card in the Federal exemption set. That amount is $1,150.

That puts you about $575 worth of your $12.5k worth of belongings without exemptions. *BUT* these amounts are due to change due to inflation every 3 years and are due for a change April 2013 - so that may make a difference.

Another question - what do you mean by personal items? Clothing? Furniture? Car? Those may be covered by an exemption of their own and would not count towards your wild card.

This site has the most up-to-date exemption info as far as I have found: http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankruptcy/laws/ To get to the Federal exemptions, scroll all the way to the bottom.

I hope this helped you.

[ValleYum]

Wait, now I read something where California doesn't allow you to use the federal exemptions? How can that be?

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

If I can't use California's exemptions, and California won't let me use the federal one's, what the heck are my options?!?

When you can't use the state you "belong" to - you get to use the Federal. If you were a regular CA resident you would not have that option.

[dina13]

I think CA won't let you use Federal exemptions if it's a state that you claim as homestead. If you've been out of the country for years, CA is not your homestead, and then you have to use Federal exemptions.

[sailing2013]

Thanks, Dina and Valle, for your prompt and informative replies!

Valle: The $1.5K for "personal items" is basically the value of every physical asset I own. I have a laptop, a smartphone and a suitcase full of clothes. That's it. No car, no jewelry, no household items, no furniture or appliances, etc. And, frankly, $1.5K is probably a generous estimation!

[dina13]

When you estimate your personal items, use the value you would have gotten for them at garage sale. Used clothes, used laptop, etc. Go with those numbers, they are perfectly acceptable. Exemptions for personal items under $550 per item do have their own category, so you don't have to use your wildcards for those.

[ValleYum]

^^ What Dina said!!

Your wildcards should cover your now $11k worth of tickets, rent, etc.

But, the BEST thing you can do when the time to file draws nearer, is to work with a BK attorney in the area where you plan to file. They know the ins and outs of the local trustees and their knowledge will be invaluable to you.

[sailing2013]

Great, thanks again, Dina.

I'm not even sure if I'm going to file, and, if I do, it will be in about six months. So I can worry about the details closer to the date. Right now, just trying to get a ballpark idea of how filing would work for me. As I've mentioned, I'm new to this and there's a lot of information to digest.

From my current understanding,
1) All of my assets would be exempt;
2) I would need to use the federal exemptions.

Now I can focus on finding work and making sure I won't need to file when I return stateside this summer =)

Cheers,
Steve

[sailing2013]

Thanks, Valle.

Certainly I will work with a local attorney. Too much at stake--and too many variables--to file pro se!

Cheers!