Nevada Bankruptcy Information
Bankruptcy is a way to get court-sanctioned relief from creditors. If you are granted a discharge by the bankruptcy court, your creditors can no longer pursue you for unpaid debts. While bankruptcy follows federal rules of procedure, Nevada has specific property exemptions that you can use to shelter your assets from creditors in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.
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Available Chapters
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The federal bankruptcy chapters are available for all 50 states, including Nevada. The primary options for consumers are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 grants you relief from most or all of your unsecured debts in a short time after you file, usually 60 to 90 days. However, you must forfeit property above Nevada exemption levels to the court. Chapter 13 reorganizes your debts into a payment plan that lasts three or five years.
Qualification in Nevada
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Changes to federal bankruptcy law in 2005 introduced a qualification element for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If your annual income falls below the median income for a household of your size in Nevada, then you qualify for Chapter 7. For cases filed on or after November 10, 2010 the median income for a two-person household in Nevada was $56,612 according to the U.S. Trustee Program. You can also qualify if you pass the means test, which subtracts allowable expenses from your annual income to determine if you have enough disposable income to fund a repayment plan in Chapter 13.
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Nevada Exemptions
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In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you are allowed to keep all of your assets. However, for a Chapter 7, any assets you have above state exemption levels must be surrendered to the court for liquidation on behalf of your creditors. In addition to other exemptions, the State of Nevada offers relatively generous exemptions of up to $15,000 for a vehicle and up to $550,000 for your homestead.
Bankruptcy Process
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The bankruptcy process in Nevada begins when you submit your petition to your local bankruptcy court. Within 20 to 40 days, you must attend a Section 341 meeting to answer questions from your bankruptcy trustee and possibly your creditors about your petition. If there are no objections to your case, the court can grant your discharge as rapidly as 60 days after your 341 meeting in Chapter 7 cases. A Chapter 13 discharge comes after you complete all creditor payments according to your court-approved payment plan.
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