How to Keep My Inheritance in Chapter 13
- 1). Tell your bankruptcy attorney of your inheritance and that you want to keep it. Your attorney can alert the bankruptcy court of the change in your assets and begin working with you to keep it.
- 2). Check your inheritance to see if it is a state exemption. Each state has its own exemptions that allow certain properties or portions of properties to be deducted from your total assets when you and creditors sit down to put together a repayment plan.
- 3). Decide if your inheritance qualifies as another exemption. For instance, if you inherit a house or jewelry, you may be able to exempt your inheritance because the state where you live has a homestead exemption or personal property exemption.
- 4). Agree to pay more. With a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can hold onto any assets you wish as long as your unsecured creditors will be paid the same amount at the end of the repayment plan as they would have been paid had your inheritance been included in developing the payment plan.
