What if a debtor wants to retain non-exempt assets?
A chapter 13 should be considered. However, it should be noted that even though some assets may exceed the allowable exemption level, the chapter 7 trustee may elect to abandon the asset back to the debtor if the liquidation of the asset would yield an insignificant amount of money. Also, chapter 7 debtors may be afforded the opportunity to compensate the bankruptcy estate (pay the Trustee the value with the Bankruptcy Courts approval) for the un-exempt portion of an asset in order to avoid liquidation.
