The laws regarding the seizure of property vary from state to state. In Oklahoma, exempt assets in property include: Homestead - Real property or manufactured home to an unlimited value up to 1/4 acre, otherwise up to $5,000 for up to one acre in city or town and up to 160 acres elsewhere. Insurance - Includes assessment or mutual benefits, fraternal benefit society benefits, funeral benefits prepaid & placed in trust, group life policy or proceeds, and limited stock insurance benefits.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection is a court ordered hold on all your personal assets and property. A bankruptcy trustee will determine what property can be liquidated in order to satisfy any outstanding debts.

Bankruptcy is a procedure brought in federal court. About 6 months after your case is filed, the bankruptcy court in the area where you reside will issue an Order declaring all your unsecured debts discharged. That means your unsecured creditors which you had before you filed bankruptcy will then forever be barred from contacting you ever again to collect on a debt.

If you are able to make any meaningful payments (even a relatively small percentage of payments) to your unsecured creditors (in addition to your normal living expenses), you will probably be required to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy instead of a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

In a bankruptcy case under chapter 7, you file a petition asking the court to discharge your debts. The basic idea in a chapter 7 bankruptcy is to wipe out (discharge) your debts in exchange for your giving up property, except for "exempt" property which the law allows you to keep. (see bankruptcy- Oklahoma exemptions) In most cases, all of your property will be exempt. But property which is not exempt is sold, with the money distributed to creditors.

A couple of weeks after you file for bankruptcy, you will receive a notice from the bankruptcy court to attend a meeting of creditors. This meeting is scheduled under Section 341a of the bankruptcy code. The bankruptcy court will also notify the creditors you listed in your bankruptcy papers. A trustee runs the meeting and, after swearing you in, may ask you questions about your bankruptcy and the documents you filed. The questioning by the trustee usually only lasts for a few minutes.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding is commenced by filing a petition with the bankruptcy court. The person filing a Chapter 7 is referred to as the debtor. The debtor is required to disclose to the court all of its property and debts and turn over all nonexempt property to the bankruptcy trustee, who then converts it to cash for distribution to the creditors. The debtor then receives a discharge of all dischargeable debts.

Although you are not required to state a reason or explainwhy you are filing bankruptcy, the most common reasons for consumer bankrupcy are often beyond the control of the individual debtor:

Almost any individual, partnership, or corporation may file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition if he or she resides, has a domicile, a place of business, or property in the United States. If you filed a prior bankruptcy petition and the prior proceeding was dismissed within the last 180 days, you may not be able to file a second petition.

NO! Often people file bankruptcy before they are seriously delinquent on their monthly debts. If you can barely make the minimum payments required on your credit cards, or if it appears that you will not be able to make payments as they come due, it may be better for you to file bankruptcy rather than let your situation deteriorate. YES! A federal injunction (automatic stay) goes into effect immediately when a person files bankruptcy, which stops the foreclosure.

Attorneys who have been through a special training course and who are authorized to be "electronic filers" may file documents electronically. For non-electronic filers, bankruptcy petitions, pleadings, and other documents may be tendered to the Court by mail at United States Bankruptcy Court, 721 Nineteenth Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-2508, or in person at the public counters in room 116 of the Bankruptcy Clerk's Office at the same address.

A:Title 11, which is the United State Bankruptcy Code, is broken down into Chapters. "Chapter 7" of Title 11 deals with liquidation bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy will wipe out (discharge) most of the average person's debts, i.e., he will no longer be under a legal obligation to pay them.