Nearly a hundred years ago, the Supreme Court opined, “[i]t is the purpose of the Bankruptcy Act to convert the assets of the bankrupt into cash for distribution among creditors and then relieve the honest debtor from the weight of oppressive indebtedness and permit him to start afresh free from obligations and responsibilities consequent upon business misfortunes.”

I glean from that: freedom from oppression.

Alarmingly, the Court references conversion of assets. There's no avoiding the notion of liquidation in chapter 7 bankruptcy: look it up and it's right there in the title: "Chapter 7-LIQUIDATION." Fortunately, most debtors will not lose property, because exemption laws protect a substantial amount of one’s property. Consider that a family in California can protect up to $75,000 in home equity. Seniors can protect up to $150,000 of interest in their home. If you don' t own a home, you can utilize exemptions to protect up to $21,825 in any property. These protections are in addition to safeguards that prevent sale of clothing, furniture, household goods, pensions and more. The law is designed to protect what Americans reasonably need and deserve to keep. Starting afresh implies doing so without sustaining serious loss.