Governor Paterson signs new Bankruptcy Exemptions into law in New York
Good morning all. Yes, yes, we all should be out of the office in New York today, but I wanted to share some exciting news. Governor Paterson, yesterday, signed into law, a new Bankruptcy Bill which will help out thousands upon thousands of people who ordinarily would have lost property if they filed for Bankruptcy in New York. The law, among other things, increases the exemption for a home from $50,000 to $150,000! That means that if you own a home, alone, and your home is worth up to $150,000 more than the mortgage you owe on it, you can still file Bankruptcy in New York AND keep the home. If you’re filing Bankruptcy jointly with your spouse, and both names are on the deed to the home/condo/apt, you get up to $300,000! This really is tremendous news.
Exemptions on all kinds of things have increased as well. The exemption for a vehicle has increased from $2400 to $4000 as well. Again, if your car is worth up to $4,000 more than what you owe on it, and you need to file for Bankruptcy in New York, you’ll be able to keep the vehicle now. There are now Federal exemptions to work with as well, which can mean a very large increase in the amount of cash you can exempt.
Contact our office to learn more about this bill and its implications to you. Merry Christmas to everyone out there.