Bankruptcy Indiana

Whenever readers who visit my website or my Indiana bankruptcy blog pose specific questions that I think might be of general interest, I will devote one of the upcoming blog posts to answering that question. This time the question was about jewelry, and whether debtors who file bankruptcy can generally keep their personal jewelry.

This question relates to a more general question, and this is one that just about everyone who visits one of my four Indiana bankruptcy law offices asks:  Will I lose everything if I file bankruptcy?  In my blog "The Fate of Bankruptcy Myths is In the Stars", I debunked that myth.  Indiana has exemptions that protect certain kinds of assets, including a car (up to a certain value), money in life insurance and retirement plan accounts, household goods, and clothing. 

Jewelry, up to a dollar limit of approximately $500, is also protected under Indiana exemptions.  (Wedding rings, by the way, are always protected.)  The fact is, as the book "Personal Bankruptcy Laws For Dummies" stresses (p.339) "Debtors are allowed to keep all their stuff in about 94 percent of personal bankruptcies."

The term "exempt asset" means that assets cannot be seized by creditors, and that the bankruptcy court will not require that asset be sold in order to make payment to creditors.

There are several important reminders I want to mention here about jewelry and other personal assets:

 - If you own pieces of jewelry that you think might be worth quite a bit of money, the best thing is to have a certified appraisal of the jewelry.  Then, if you file a bankruptcy petition, you can truthfully demonstrate the actual value of your jewelry in your paperwork that needs to be submitted to the bankruptcy court as part of the process.

 - The bankruptcy court system was put in place to help people who have fallen upon hard times.  I've spent many, many hours in bankruptcy court representing tens of thousands of people from central Indiana, and I know the court shows very little patience for dishonesty by debtors. That means you report all your assets fairly, and do not attempt to give away or hide any assets, including your jewelry, as you prepare to file your petition.