Is it legal to live in 1 state and file bankruptcy in another state?

Answer 1

When bankruptcy law was revised in 2005, a rule was added saying you must live in a state two years before you can use its exemptions. If you moved (into a house or PO box) less than two years ago and more than 90 days ago, the court will use exemptions from the state where you lived two years before the filing date. Technically, where you lived the longest between -2.5 and -2.0 years ago. If laws of that state say exemptions are for residents only and you are no longer a resident (you can have more than one residence), the court will use federal exemptions, even if your new state says they are not available.

Answer 2

Generally you will file bankruptcy in the state in which you reside. At times there may be advantages (as some states make it easier to file bankruptcy than others) to filing in a state in which you do not currently live (or in the prior state if you just moved).

Residency is determined based on where one has spent the majority of the last 180 days. So technically if you have lived in a NEW state, you could file bankruptcy in the state you used to live in if you have only lived in the new state for 89 days. So as an example, let's say you move from New York to Maryland. If you just moved to Maryland, you could file in New York if you have lived in Maryland for less than 3 months. After 3 months, you would have to file in Maryland. There are sometimes other factors and determinations that could play a role in where you file such as where your principal assets are housed, but we'd need to discuss your particular situation in detail to determine the best course of action.

Answer 3

You can move regardless of the banckruptcy but the banckrupcy will follow you any state you got since it is to your name and not in a state data base. Move but dont apply for credit.