Can we file bankruptcy on our personal stuff and not our corporation if all is well with the business?
-- Anonymous
A.
The corporation is a separate legal entity. It is capable of filing its own bankruptcy and is not affected by a bankruptcy filing by its shareholders.
The asset of the individuals is shares of stock in the corporation. Those shares are part of your bankruptcy estate. If the corporation has net value, positive worth after the sale of its assets and the payment of its debts, then a trustee in your case may try to sell the shares or dissolve the corporation. In my experience, that is very rare. Most small businesses have little value when separated from the people who run them.
Many clients tell me that "these six credit cards are business cards" and therefore aren't part of their personal filing. That is usually wrong, in that almost every credit card I have ever seen has a real, live, individual who is liable for the debt. The corporation may (but usually isn't) liable, too, but the shareholder is liable.
Get experienced bankruptcy counsel who can look at the corporation as one of your assets and help preserve it through your bankruptcy.
