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Will you lose your house if you file for bankruptcy?

As a Georgia resident who is currently dealing with increasingly overwhelming debt, you may be thinking about whether filing for bankruptcy may give you the fresh financial start you need. You may, too, be wondering how doing so could potentially affect some of your most sizable assets, such as your home. Ultimately, whether you will lose your home when you file for bankruptcy depends on several factors, among them the type of bankruptcy protection you choose to pursue.

Per the Washington Post, one of the factors that will determine whether you get to keep your home when you file for bankruptcy is whether you file for a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 bankruptcies, which are typically for people who have the means to pay back at least some portion of what they owe, generally allow you to hang on to your home, provided you keep up with your restructuring plan and stay current on all your payments.

If you file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meanwhile, which typically helps people who do not have enough money to pay back some portion of their debts, the answer to whether you will lose your home is a bit more complicated. Depending on how much it is worth, your home may be exempt from your bankruptcy proceedings. Ultimately, it will come down to whether the equity you have in your home falls below that of Georgia’s allowed exemption amount. If it does, your home will typically remain yours, despite your filing for bankruptcy.

This information about whether you will lose your home when you file for bankruptcy is educational in nature and does not constitute legal advice.