what personal assets do i lose when i file bankruptcy?

What assets you lose depends on which chapter you file, the value of your assets, and the exemption laws that apply to your case. Exemptions are "protections" for value you have in certain assets such that they are "exempt" from collections.  Every state has different exemptions amounts available. Exemption laws are based on the state where you resided for the 2 years prior to filing your bankruptcy case or, if you lived in more than 1 state during that period, in the state where you resided for the greater part of the 180 days prior to that 2 year period. In a Chapter 13 case, you would not lose any assets, but would have to pay out at least as much as your creditors would receive in a Chapter 7 liquidation case. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr