Texas State Economy:

The Texas economy is anchored by 1) Energy production, including petroleum and natural gas; 2) Technology; 3) Steel; 4) Banking; and 5) Tourism.

Texas Bankruptcy Court Locations:

Northern District of Texas:

Abilene
U.S. Courthouse
Room 2000A (Live Docket)
Room 2201 (Video Docket)
341 Pine – 3rd & Pine
Abilene, TX 79601-3928

Lubbock
George Mahon Federal Building
1205 Texas Ave., Rm 306
Lubbock, TX 79401-4002

 

Amarillo
J. Marvin Jones Federal Building
205 Southeast Fifth Ave., Rm 201D
Amarillo, Texas 79101-1559

 

San Angelo
U.S. Courthouse
Room 216 (Live docket)
Room 216 (Video docket)
33 E. Twohig Ave.
San Angelo, TX 76903-6451

 

Dallas
Earle Cabell Federal Building
1100 Commerce St., Rm. 1254
Dallas, TX 75242-1496

 

Wichita Falls
United States Courthouse
1000 Lamar Street, Room
222
Wichita Falls, TX 76301-3430

 

Fort Worth
Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse
501 W. 10th St.
Fort Worth, TX 76102-3643

Eastern District of Texas:

Beaumont
US Bankruptcy Court
300 Willow Street
Suite 100
Beaumont, TX 77701

 

Tyler
US Bankruptcy Court
110 North College Ave
9th Floor
Tyler, Texas 75702

 

Plano
US Bankruptcy Court
660 North Central
Expressway
Suite 300B
Plano, TX 75074

Southern District of Texas:

Brownsville
US Bankruptcy Court
110 North College Ave
9th Floor
Tyler, Texas 75702

Houston
515 Rusk Street
Houston, TX 77002

 

Corpus Christi
1133 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi, TX 78401

 

McAllen
1701 W. Business Hwy 83
McAllen, TX 78501

 

Galveston
601 Rosenberg
Galveston, TX 77550

 

Laredo
1300 Victoria St.
Laredo, TX 78040

 

McAllen
1701 W. Business Hwy 83
McAllen, TX 78501

Western District of Texas:

Austin
312 S. Main, Room 406
Victoria, TX 77901

Laredo
1300 Victoria St.
Laredo, TX 78040

 

Waco
800 Franklin Ave.
Suite 140
Waco, TX 76701

San Antonio
Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and United States Courthouse
615 East Houston Street, Room 597
San Antonio, Texas 78205

 

El Paso
United States Bankruptcy Courthouse
511 E. San Antonio Ave. Room 444
El Paso, Texas 79901

Texas Bankruptcy Exemptions:

Texas Homestead Exemption

Texas offers an unlimited homestead exemption for a residence on 10 acres or less in a city, town or village or 100 acres or less in the country. If you sell your house, the proceeds are exempt for six months after the sale under this exemption. (Tex. Prop. Code Ann. §§ 41.001, 41.002, 41.003. See also the Texas Constitution, Article 16, §§ 50, 51.)

Texas Motor Vehicle Exemption

The Texas motor vehicle exemption is also generous—the law allows you to exempt the entire value of one motor vehicle per licensed household member. If you have a household member who doesn’t have a license, you can still exempt that vehicle if the unlicensed person relies on someone else to operate the vehicle. Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 41.002(a)(9).

Texas Personal Property Exemptions

The personal property you exempt (things other than real estate) cannot exceed a total of $100,000 or $50,000 if you are a single adult without a family. For example, if all your personal property is worth $125,000, you can exempt only $100,000 of it if you are the head of a family. The remaining $25,000 will be nonexempt. By contrast, a single person would be limited to a total of $50,000:
⦁ Up to two firearms. § 42.002 (a)(7).
  ⦁ Athletic and sporting equipment, including bicycles. § 42.002 (a)(8).
  ⦁ Bibles or other books containing sacred religious writings (these are not subject to the $100,000/$50,000 cap). § 42.001 (b)(4).
  ⦁ Home furnishings including family heirlooms. § 42.002 (a)(1).
  ⦁ Jewelry (limited to 25% of total exemption — so as of 2015, you can keep up to $25,000 ($12,500 if you are single) of your jewelry). § 42.002 (a)(6).
  ⦁ Animals, including pets and domestic animals plus their food; two horses, mules, or donkeys, plus tack; 12 head of cattle; 60 head of other livestock; and 120 fowl. § 42.002 (a)(10),(11).
  ⦁ Clothing and food. § 42.002 (a)(2),(5).
  ⦁ Health savings accounts. § 42.0021.
  ⦁ Burial plots ( § 41.001) and health aids such as wheelchairs, canes and hearing aids ( § 42.001 (b)(2)).

Pensions and Retirement Accounts

Most tax-exempt pensions and retirement accounts are exempt, even if you choose the Texas exemptions instead of the federal exemptions. These pensions and accounts include particular pensions or retirement funds that receive special tax exemptions under the U.S. Tax Code. You can check with your fund to find out if it qualifies for tax-exempt status.
Additionally, Texas provides that the following pensions and retirement accounts are exempt under Texas law:
  ⦁ County and district employee retirement and pension benefits. Tex. Gov’t. Code Ann. § 811.006.
  ⦁ ERISA-qualified government or church benefits, including Keoghs, IRAs and Roth IRAs. Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 42.0021.
  ⦁ Firefighter retirement and pension benefits. Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243e.1 (1.04), Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243e (5), Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243b (15), Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243a-1 (8.03), Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243e (5).
  ⦁ Judges’ retirement and pension benefits. Tex. Gov’t. Code Ann. § 831.004.
  ⦁ Law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel survivors benefits. Tex. Gov’t. Code Ann. § 615.005.
  ⦁ Municipal employees, elected officials, and state employees’ pension and retirement benefits. Tex. Gov’t. Code Ann. § 811.005, Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243h (22).
  ⦁ Police officer pension and retirement benefits. Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243d-1 (17), Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243b (15), Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243a-1 (8.03), Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6243j (20).
  ⦁ Retirement benefits to the extent they are tax-deferred. Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 42.0021.
  ⦁ Teacher retirement and pension benefits. Tex. Gov’t. Code Ann. § 821.005.

Insurance Exemptions

  ⦁ Fraternal benefit society benefits (such as those provided by the Freemasons, the Knights of Columbus and the Elks). Tex. Ins. Code Ann. § 885.316.
  ⦁ Life, health, accident, or annuity benefits, including any money, policy proceeds or cash value due to or paid to the beneficiary or insured. Tex. Ins. Code Ann. § 1108.051.
  ⦁ Texas employee uniform group insurance. Tex. Ins. Code Ann. § 1551.011.
  ⦁ Texas public school employees’ group insurance. Tex. Ins. Code Ann. § 1575.006.
  ⦁ Texas state college or university employee benefits. Tex. Ins. Code Ann. § 1601.008.