Wisconsin vs Federal exemptions

[jefferino]

I am getting confused and was hoping for clarification here before calling my attorney about a chapter 7.

I have been holding on to collected rents from a home that I also live in. People live with me in the upper unit and i also have tenants in the lower unit. Currently, I have about $6,000 in cash.

Can I keep the cash? It is not in a bank. Do I just explain that I have cash in a lockbox at home?

Will this be a Federal exemption? What are the limits?

[LadyInTheRed]

Yes, if it is cash located in your home (or anywhere else), you will list it as cash on your assets schedule. You can keep it if there is an exemption available.

With the help of your attorney, you will choose either Federal Exemptions or Wisconsin exemptions depending on which will allow you to shelter more of your assets. Click here to see a comparison of WI and Federal Exemptions.

It looks like WI has a $5,000 exemption for "deposit accounts". A WI bankruptcy attorney can tell you whether you can use that to exempt cash, or if you will have to deposit your cash into a bank account to use the exemption. Federal Exemptions include a wildcard exemption of $1,225. Federal exemptions also include a homestead exemption of $22,975. You can use up to $11,500 of the unused federal homestead exemption as a wildcard. You should discuss with your attorney whether to use WI or Federal exemptions and how best to use them.

If you can't exempt your cash, ask your attorney about how you can spend it before filing BK. The first thing to use it for is to pay your attorney fees.

[keepsmiling]

It is rare that we get Wisconsin posters here, but when we do, I like to point out an option that only you guys have. Just in case you don't know it exists.
It's a Chapter 128. Probably it won't apply to your circumstances, but you should be aware it exists.

http://www.chapter128.com/