Work has been uneven in Nelson County. Distillery output slowed through 2025 and 2026. Shifts were cut. One Bardstown plant paused production for at least twelve months starting May 1, 2026.
If your household income dropped, timing matters more than most people expect. Nick Thompson is a Bardstown bankruptcy attorney who files Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. He works as a Louisville bankruptcy and foreclosure attorney and takes Nelson County cases from there. The first consultation is free.
Call 502-625-0905 for a free consultation.
Your last six months of income decide the case
The Chapter 7 means test looks at your gross income for the six full calendar months before you file. It does not look at what you earn this week.
That rule cuts both ways here.
Say you lost your job in March. Your six-month average still carries three months of full pay. Filing in April may push you over the Kentucky median. Waiting a few months may put the same case under it.
Now flip it. Say you are back at work after a layoff. Filing soon uses the low months. Waiting too long could cost you Chapter 7 and force you into a five-year plan.
We run the math both ways before anything gets filed.
Severance, buyouts, and payout timing
A severance check counts as income in the month you receive it. So does accrued vacation paid out when you separate.
It also matters where that money sits. Cash in your checking account on the day you file is an asset the court can look at. Money already spent on rent, groceries, or a car repair is gone and is not counted.
Bring your separation paperwork to the first meeting. We look at the date, the amount, and the payout schedule together.
Income that moves through the year
Bardstown runs on visitors as well as barrels. Tour season, event work, and restaurant hours all swing by the month.
A Chapter 13 repayment plan can be built around income that moves. We use your real annual pattern instead of one good month or one bad one.
What filing stops
The automatic stay begins the day you file personal bankruptcy in Kentucky. It stops wage garnishment. It stops collection calls and letters. It stops repossession. It pauses a scheduled foreclosure sale. Most lawsuits stop as well.
Creditors have to hold off until the court says otherwise.
What you get to keep
Kentucky lets filers choose the federal exemption list instead of the Kentucky bankruptcy exemptions. That choice usually favors homeowners here.
The Kentucky homestead exemption protects $5,000 of home equity. The federal homestead exemption protects $31,575, and $63,150 for a married couple filing together. Those amounts apply to cases filed between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2028.
Retirement accounts are generally protected in full. We review every item you own and apply the set that protects the most.
Filing from Bardstown
Nelson County cases go to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division. The courthouse is at 601 West Broadway in Louisville.
You will not have to drive there. Your 341 meeting of creditors is held by Zoom video. You join from your kitchen table.
State court matters, including a mortgage foreclosure, stay local. Those run through the Nelson County Justice Center at 200 Nelson County Plaza.
Serving Nelson County
We take cases from across the county. That includes Bardstown, Bloomfield, New Haven, Boston, Coxs Creek, and Fairfield.
Bardstown is the county seat and Kentucky’s second-oldest city, settled in 1780. Nelson County had 46,738 residents at the 2020 census.
Who handles your case
Nick Thompson has practiced law since 1988 and in Kentucky since 1991. He holds U.S. Tax Court License #51. Before consumer work he was an attorney for the West Virginia state tax department.
He prepares every petition himself. The lawyer who reviews your file is the lawyer who signs it.
Call 502-625-0905 for a free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you serve Bardstown and the rest of Nelson County?
Do I have to drive to Louisville to file?
I was laid off. Should I file now or wait?
Does severance pay count against me?
What are your office hours?
Talk to a Bankruptcy Attorney
Call 502-625-0905 or visit the office at 800 Stone Creek Parkway, Suite 6, Louisville, KY 40223.