Tax Refund in Illinois and Chapter 7 FIling

My wife and I filed for Chapter 7 on March 19, 2008 and we signed our tax papers for our 2007 taxes yesterday. We are supposed to receive 9400 from the fed and 480 from the state of Illinois on our return. How much of this return can we be exempt from. Her and I are both currently unemployed.

That would depend on the jurisdiction at the time of your filing and can best be answered by the attorney handling your bankruptcy, in my opinion. Generally, I believe a refund can be considered an asset of your estate and unless your attorney files for an exemption, the trustee is entitled to it. (Again, in my opinion.) I believe Illinois doesn't allow federal exemptions, but has its own state exemptions (a general list of personal property, for example, can be found at 735*ILCS*5/*Code of Civil Procedure.)* and again, depending on the jurisdiction and your set of personal circumstances, more (or less) exemptions may be available to you. Personally, I'd suggest you carefully review your BK docs for the list of exemptions already filed, and if this isn't already addressed, contact that attorney for a full list of Illinois exemptions to see if more can be added before your final hearing. Just a suggestion here.

Hope this helps. And hopefully, your question has already been answered in your original petition. (*Website posted strictly for informational purposes.) Good luck to you.