When Stars file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and/or Chapter 13 bankruptcy to discharge their debts, their assets are quite different from the average debtor. Debts are discharged but assets are lost in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
Filing Chapter 7 and/or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy have different results for your Bankruptcy assets. Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can result in your assets being sold to pay off your debts. However, filing Chapter 13 protects your assets.
Below is an example of filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy and losing your championship ring.
Antoine Devon Walker an American retired professional basketball player filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. He earned more than $108 million in NBA salaries between 1996 and 2009.
His Career:
- Drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft out of the Univ. of Kentucky
- NBA player from 1996 to 2008.
- Played for: Celtics, Mavericks, Hawks, Heat, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, the BSN’s Mets and the NBA D-League’s Stampede
- Retired from basketball in 2012
- 3 Time NBA All-Star
- NCAA championship with Kentucky in 1996
- NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
On May 18, 2010, Walker filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the S. District of Florida (Miami) Case# 10-23558: total assets of $4.3 million and debts of $12.7 million. The filing listed 4 pieces of real estate including a $2.3 million Miami home that was underwater with a mortgage of $3.6 million, and 3 other properties in Chicago, one listed for $1.4 million. A friend had to pay half the fee for his Bankruptcy lawyer. Walker’s championship ring had to be sold off (that was one of his bankruptcy assets that must have been hard to part with).
According to Antoine Walker – how does this happen?
- Creating a very expensive lifestyle early on in your career
- Never saying no to friends and family
- Becoming an open ATM for friends and family
- Gambling (not behind the majority of his debts)
- Bad Real Estate investments, due to market turn and underdevelopment.
This is a common story for many athletes and Antoine wants to help stop this cycle of Glory to Bust. He is working with Morgan Stanley to educate other celebrities and athletes to avoid his same mistakes.
Debts Discharged
All of his debts were discharged.
You must learn to say “no” to your family and friends – they won’t be there when you have to file for bankruptcy. Friends and family did not line up to pay his attorney’s fee when he filed for bankruptcy, only one friend did.
Sharing his story with Global Sports and Entertainment is a perfect way to give back and a platform to share his story.
Bankruptcy occurs to people of all incomes and walks of life. Creating too expensive of a lifestyle is dangerous to your financial health.
If you are having trouble meeting your monthly payments, contact me. I provide a free consult to determine if bankruptcy is right for you. You do not want to acquire assets and then they become bankruptcy assets. You may be able to keep your assets by filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy rather than a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
