At a free talk I recently gave at Legal Aid of Marin, I was asked a very serious question by an older woman among the attendees: “If I file for bankruptcy, will they take my Social Security?”

The simple answer to that question is: No.

First of all, Social Security income is generally protected from garnishment, even outside bankruptcy. Secondly, filing for bankruptcy STOPS all debt collection efforts, including income garnishment. Thirdly, few individuals who file for bankruptcy actually lose assets to the trustee.

When you file for bankruptcy, you list all your assets, including your money in the bank. Your lawyer then determines how much of your assets’ value is covered by “exemptions,” laws that protect different categories of assets in different amounts. For the overwhelming majority of my clients, 100% of their assets are covered by exemptions. Thus, everything they have is “exempt” from liquidation by the trustee.

But what if you have more assets than what the exemptions cover? The answer is different in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases. (Your lawyer will advise you on which of the chapters is right for your particular situation.) In a Chapter 7 case, to get your debts discharged, you will have to give the trustee the non-exempt property or its cash value. In a Chapter 13 case, the amount you pay back to your unsecured creditors through your Plan will have to be at least equivalent to the non-exempt amount.

So I repeat, if you file for bankruptcy, they will NOT take your Social Security. But as with so many issues in bankruptcy, that simple answer gets complicated very quickly. Be sure to talk to your own lawyer.

[This article is not legal advice and does not create any attorney-client relationship.]