My wife and I have to file Bankruptcy, Chapter 7. I am 66, retired, my wife is a housewife and both of us now have heart issues. The problem began in 2001 when my wife had cancer. We planned on selling our home and moving to the Philippines and my retirement would have been sufficient enough for us to be comfortable. The cancer she had changed all of that. The retirement fund disappeared and after her recovery, we realized that our expenses were greater than our income. So we got involved with a local farmers market.

We started growing vegetables on our property to sell at the market and business was good. To make work easier, I purchased a small tractor 7 years ago. Last year, my wife was diagnosed with a weak heart, no doubt due to the chemo in 2001. In August, I was diagnosed with AFib, am on medication and restrictions. Because of this, we have had to reduce the amount of produce we grow and sell and thus our income. . Once again, our expenses are greater than income and we now have some credit card bills that we simply cannot pay, thus the Chapter 7. With what we’re doing right now, we barely break even.
My state does not have a “Wild Card” exception and I am being told I have to sell my tractor. The tractor is absolutely necessary not only for health reasons, but for our ability to continue growing and selling vegetables – just to break even. I cannot do what needs to be done without it and if I’m forced to sell it, I don’t know what we’ll do. The end result will be worse than this Chapter 7.
Therefore, my question is this: Is there any provision or waiver that would prevents this? This isn’t a toy, a fancy car, or an RV. This is something that is absolutely needed for us to survive. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.