Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
Tomoe: To the best of my knowledge they can take your stuff not his. Also they are limited in what they can really take. If I recall they can't take your regular clothing, your bed, your dishes, your pots and pans ie the essentials for a daily life. Plus there are some interesting little tricks you can play with that liquidation of property aspect. Your best bet is to do some research. The lawyer would just end up costing you money you don't have anyways. You need to find all of your debts you owe regardless of who you owe them to for the process.
edited 2nd Feb '13 12:04:51 PM by TuefelHundenIV
Who watches the watchmen?
'80s TV Action Hero
I thought you were writing a book.
'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'
Nemesis
There's generally a formula of how much stuff you're allowed to keep through bankruptcy. There are federal provisions and then state provisions; most people pick the state provisions, since they're generally more generous.
For most people, they can keep the vast majority of their personal possessions, especially since by legal precedent the reckoning of the value has to be the "fire sale" value — how much you could get for it in a hurry.
Do a search for "Georgia Bankruptcy Exemptions" — what I got back when I looked is you can keep up to $5000 of your stuff, plus $3500 in a motor vehicle and $21,500 of home value. If you don't own or part-own a residence, you can use $5000 of that on other property. There are some further details and exemptions.
You should be fine.
Unless they're garnishing your income for your debts, though, it might be premature to declare bankruptcy. If you have no stuff, there's nothing they can take.
edited 22nd Feb '13 5:56:26 PM by Morven
A brighter future for a darker age.
Long story short: lots of debt, little money to pay, certainly none to hire an attorney.
Here's the thing. Right now, I'm staying in my brother's house that he rents from his dad. He and I generally have our own expenses, we just split the utility bill, so I'm guessing under the law we count as roommates rather than a single household.
Most of the possessions in this house are his. I know that in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy here in GA at least, you have to have your property liquidated and paid to your creditors. I don't want some of his belongings to get caught in the crossfire (like his video game consoles, especially the PS 3).
Anybody know the relevant laws concerning this?
Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.