Since your retirement funds are already
protected by bankruptcy law, it is important that you talk to a bankruptcy trustee before draining your retirement savings to pay off debts.
When you are filing bankruptcy, whether it is Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, you must follow a defined process as
defined by the bankruptcy laws of each state.
Some are
required by bankruptcy law and are designed to provide your creditors with enough information about your situation to enable them to decide whether or not to agree to your consumer proposal.
While some of the cash value in the policy may be
protected by bankruptcy laws, any amounts that exceed the protection limits can be seized by the court.
In any regards, it is up to the person who files a petition to the bankruptcy court to provide the burden of proof
by bankruptcy law for why the discharged case should be reopen.
In either of the above situations, you can continue to earn a living subject to the surplus income guidelines
imposed by bankruptcy law which guidelines allow you to retain a certain proportion of earnings depending upon your after - tax income and the number of persons in your household.
The trustee is then allowed to liquidate certain bankruptcy estate assets to generate funds to repay creditors in priority order
established by bankruptcy laws.
In exchange for this benefit you make payments for a set period of time,
defined by bankruptcy law, and give up any assets you own that are not exempt by provincial and federal legislation.
By bankruptcy laws, creditors can not continue to try and collect a debt once the debt has been discharged by bankruptcy.