• Maryland offers several types of bankruptcy to individuals who are unable to meet their financial obligations. Before beginning the bankruptcy process, it's important to understand the exemptions, procedures and laws in the state of Maryland. Bankruptcy in Maryland, no matter which type you file, will require you to have a bankruptcy trustee who protects your interests.
  
  

What Types of Bankruptcy Can I File?

• Maryland offers four types of bankruptcy. Chapter 7 liquidates all of your assets, except for those protected by exemptions, and gets rid of any debt that can be dissolved under bankruptcy laws. In Chapter 11 debt reorganization, you create a plan for discharging debt over a period of time. You're able to keep everything you own and can rearrange or sell assets that you own at your leisure to repay the debt. Chapter 12 is a bankruptcy option for family farmers or fishermen who have less than 1.5 million dollars in debt, minus the amount of the family residence. Chapter 13 creates a debt-repayment plan under the supervision of a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee. The debtor has to make a good faith effort to pay a certain percentage of his debts over a three- to five-year period in exchange for having the rest of the debts discharged.
  
  

Does Maryland offer a homestead exemption?

• Unlike many states, Maryland does not offer a homestead exemption. Homestead exemptions in bankruptcy protect your primary residence from being taken as a liquid object in the bankruptcy proceedings. Although Maryland doesn't offer this protection, it does, however, offer a wildcard exemption that you can apply to your home. This means that you can protect assets that have a value below the wildcard exemption, which changes every year.
  
  

How Much Will it Cost to File Bankruptcy?

• The filing fee for bankruptcy is Maryland is $120 as of October 2010. The fees for an attorney are significantly higher. Though you aren't required to have an attorney to file bankruptcy in Maryland, it is recommended. Typically, you'll have to pay more if you aren't filing Chapter 7 because the processes for the other types of bankruptcy are more complex.