Chapter 7

• Most Ohio debtors file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, even though debtors have to qualify for this chapter. A debtor can determine if she can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy by comparing her family income to the median family income for Ohio. The debtor's income determines if she can file for Chapter 7.
  
  

Chapter 7 Rights

• A bankruptcy trustee determines which property owned by the debtor can be sold to pay his creditors before the debtor can receive a discharge in the bankruptcy case. The Ohio debtor has the right to keep all property listed as exempt from being sold by Ohio's exemption law.
  
  

Wages

• Ohio's exemption law allows Ohio debtors to keep the greater of 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage or a minimum of 75 percent of their disposable weekly earnings. In addition, a judge may allow a low income debtor to keep a greater percentage of his wages than the average Ohio debtor.