"What can you not do after filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy?"

That is the title of an article by Angelica Leicht and published on cbsnews.com, "What can you not do after filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy?" dated May 14, 2025. In it the author states, "You can't keep all your assets. While each state offers a list of "exempt" property you can protect, like modest home equity and personal items, anything deemed non-exempt may be seized and sold by the bankruptcy trustee. That could include second cars, valuable collections or investment properties. If you have significant equity in certain assets, Chapter 7 could cost you more than you bargained for."

This is one of the most common concerns raised by people who call me, inquiring about bankruptcy. "Will I be able to keep my car," and "Will I be able to keep my house?" My answer to those questions is, "Almost always, Yes, and if you were one of the rare cases in which that would not happen, I would let you know that prior to filing your bankruptcy."

I strongly disagree with the statement, "You can't keep all your assets." Even if the statement was prefaced with "usually" or "often," it wouldn't be accurate.

For a more realistic view on retaining assets in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, we can find assistance in the The Yale Law Journal article, "One Size Fits None: An Overdue Reform for Chapter 7 Trustees" (2022) by Belisa Pang and Emile Shehada. Relying on the Federal Judicial Center's bankruptcy data, the authors found that, "Trustees administer assets in roughly 33% of corporate liquidations under Chapter 7.... By comparison, in 6% of consumer liquidations, trustees administer, on average, a trifling $159,192. The other 94% do not involve unencumbered assets for which the trustee will be paid."

That's right, 94% of Chapter 7 consumer bankruptcy cases are no-asset cases. That is, no assets are taken from the Debtor(s). (The percentage is likely higher because an asset case can also be created through the application of various rules such as those involving preferences and fraudulent conveyances. In those cases, a Chapter 7 Trustee can take assets from someone other than the Debtor to pay the Debtor's debts).

I wonder how many people, who could be significantly helped by the filing of a bankruptcy, never even pick up the phone to talk to a bankruptcy attorney because of inaccurate information like that in the above-referenced cbsnews.com article. Don't assume that a bankruptcy won't help you because of something you read on the internet. Call a bankruptcy attorney, and you may be pleasantly surprised!

can you not do after filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy?