I went to a bankruptcy lawyer yesterday...had a free consultation and learned a LOT in an hour. She was sharp and gave me lots of info. Homestead exemption is $150,000 in equity...car exemption is $5000 now. She let me know that it is not in my best interest to do personal b-ruptcy now, advised me to wait til after the divorce. Said that she believes Gary could do Chapter 11 and stay in business, since he seems to want to do that anyway. I will have to do a chapter 7, post-divorce, since there is no way I will be able to pay the credit card debt I will likely have to agree to take. I'll have to buy back my studio equipment that goes over the $2500 tools of the trade exemption...and might lose my ponies, and/or some pottery in my collection, depending on how it goes. All in all, I feel better now, just having more information and advice to digest.