The amount of property you are allowed to keep depends on where you file and which set of “exemption” rules applies. While the federal bankruptcy law grants certain exemptions, each of the states is allowed to adopt its own set of exemption rules, and they vary considerably.
The first question, “Where do I file?” is easy. If you have lived in Georgia for at least 91 of the last 180 days, you file your bankruptcy petition in Georgia. (Which District Court you file in depends on where in the state you live.)
The harder question is, “Which exemption rules apply?” The rules about which exemptions apply are designed to prevent people from moving to a state just to take advantage of its exemptions.
If you moved to Georgia within the last 730 days (two years). you use the exemptions of the state you came from. If you didn’t live in that state during the whole two-year period, you use the exemptions of the state where you lived for at least 91 days in the six months before the beginning of those two years. If you moved around so much that none of these rules tells you which exemptions apply, you are allowed to choose the federal exemptions.
We have described the Georgia exemptions elsewhere on our website. If you have any doubts about which exemptions you are entitled to use, please feel free to contact us. While our practice is limited to Georgia, we have ready access to the exemption statutes of all the states and are happy to assist newcomers.