Bankruptcy is a method by which debts are discharged, that is, legally eliminated by preparing and filing a formal petition in federal bankruptcy court. Bankruptcy is a citizens' right established in our constitution by our founders. Congress is authorized in the Constitution to establish uniform national laws regarding bankruptcy. However the several states, with their sovereign powers retained the right to pre-empt federal bankruptcy laws and impose their own standards of qualifying exemptions. Some states prohibit the use of federal standards altogether and impose only their own standards of qualifying exemptions.
Some states allow the use of either their specific state standards or federal standards.
In these states, the debtor can choose whichever set of standards are most advantageous to their own specific set of circumstances. American Bankruptcy performs this service automatically by electronically assessing the effects of both sets of standards and offering petitions and schedules which will provide the best results for our client. Many of us, especially those of us who have maximized our credit limits and have depleted our savings, have fallen prey to the pursuasive overtures of the moneylenders. Their usurious rates of interest have virtually enslaved us, and we find ourselves working for the primary benefit of those who have inveigled us to fall deeply into their debt. Others of us have fallen upon hard times through loss of employment, medical emergencies, or other catastrophes for which we were not prepared.