Dollar Amount Changes in New Bankruptcy Law Effective April, 2007

There are changes in the new bankruptcy law of interest to Florida debtors. The new law provided for automatic inflation adjustments in certain dollar indices. There are many adjustments going into effect in April, 2007. Most important for Florida debtors is the homestead exemption in bankruptcy which increases from $125,000 to approximately $137,000 per person. Debtors who have lived in their homestead for two years or more have an unlimited homestead exemption in Florida. As previously pointed out on this Blog, all Florida residents who are not in bankruptcy have unlimited homestead exemption regardless of how long they lived in their house.

Another significant change April 1, 2007, are debt limited for filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The maximum amount of unsecured Chapter 13 debt increases from about $307,000 to approximately $337,000 on April 1, 2007. The maximum amount of secured debt increases from about $923,000 to approximately $1,010,000. Debtors whose debt exceeds the debt limits must look for relief under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11.

posted by Jonathan Alper, bankruptcy and asset protection attorney, Orlando, Florida