Court Allows Illinois Debtor to Keep Rare Book of Mormon
When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy —a form of bankruptcy also known as liquidation bankruptcy—you are largely prohibited from keeping any property that is not exempt. However, sometimes the decisions of a bankruptcy court can be surprising, especially to concerned debtors. According to a recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch , an appeals court ruled that a debtor’s rare 1830 edition of a Book of Mormon was an item that she was allowed to keep. How can a debtor be permitted to keep an extremely valuable rare book? In short, Illinois bankruptcy exemptions include “a Bible.” To better understand the bankruptcy court’s decision, we should take a closer look at the article and specific Illinois exemptions for personal bankruptcy. Debtor Permitted to Keep Her Scarce Bible Under Bankruptcy Exemptions The debtor in this case, Anna F. Robinson, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2013. She had about $23,000 in debt, and she knew that much of her property, aside...