credit card debt - can any joint property, house, etc., be taken? What are my options?

In chapter 7 bankruptcy, if you cannot exempt an asset and is jointly owned by two people and one files bankruptcy, there is a danger to that property. But in most situations there are exemptions that will be used by your bankruptcy lawyer to protect those assets. If the joint asset we are discussing is a house and it has a mortgage, then they could not take that home in bankruptcy. In fact any property that is subject to a loan will not be touched in bankruptcy court, as you don't technically have title until the loan that is secured by the asset has been completely paid off. And most people situation their home is not paid off. If your home is paid off then the next protection you have will be your Homestead exemption, which most states have. In almost every state Homestead exemption is over $35,000, so your home would be safe from that. This does not mean that they cannot put a lien on your home, and you should file bankruptcy prior to a lean been attached to your real estate as this will not be removed in your basic bankruptcy petition. Even if you do have a lean by the bank there is something your bankruptcy attorney can do which is called filing a motion to avoid lien, which can be useful to strip lien such as this or even a second mortgage. Such answer your question joint property can be taken, but there are numbers of things and experienced bankruptcy attorney can do including using chapter 13 bankruptcy to protect your assets and still allow you to file for bankruptcy. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147