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Mississippi Bankruptcy Laws
A slight majority (54%) of Mississippi residents files for Chapter 7, but they have property exemptions available to them under state statutes to protect most of what property they own. While federal exemptions exist, they are not available to Mississippi residents. State exemptions include:
Homestead |
Up to $75,000 |
Personal Property |
Clothing, furniture, household items; motor vehicles; cash on hand; health aids; tangible personal property up to $10,000; state health savings plans; qualified education savings plans; personal injury judgments up to $10,000 |
Wages |
Income earned but unpaid for 30 days; after that time, either 75% of unpaid weekly earnings or 30 times the federal hourly minimum wage, whichever is greater |
Pensions |
Tax exempt retirement accounts; Traditional and Roth IRAs up to $1,095,000/person; police and firefighters; teachers; highway patrol; state employees; volunteer firefighters’ and law enforcement officers’ death benefits; private retirement benefits; ERISA-qualified benefits |
Public Benefits |
Social Security; assistance to blind, aged, & disabled; worker’s comp; unemployment; earned income tax credits and state/federal tax refunds up to $5,000 each; crime victims’ compensation |
Insurance |
Some types of life insurance proceeds; disability benefits; homeowners’ insurance proceeds up to $75,000 |
Once the client has completed a required credit-counseling course, their attorney can file the bankruptcy petition. The judge then orders a stay on all debt collection, and a bankruptcy trustee administers the process.They hold a mandatory meeting with the client, their attorney, and any creditors, so that the client and their attorney can be questioned about the process. If all requirements are fulfilled and questions answered, the bankruptcy is granted and the client is able to move on with a clean slate (Chapter 7) or manageable debt payments (Chapter 13).
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