Realistically, aren't most bankrupt families losing the primary residence nowadays? The mortgage is not discharged. I've read that 80-85% of bankrupts lose the house, whether immediately or within one year. Makes sense. Too many are upside down on houses now, to expect many re-affirmations.
No secured debt is discharged. So if the bankrupt owned a car with a note, he either re-affirms and keeps paying the note or he loses the car. Repossession, you know.
As for liquid assets, I think most people filing BK don't have a whole lot of liquid assets left anyway. I'm not talking wealthy BKs, I mean ordinary Joe BKs.
And as for other assets, I know it is easy for some to get all outraged over a bankrupt getting to keep his ATV or TV. But the truth is that stuff has very little value. Go sell a 5 year old TV on Craigslist, that's how much value it has - peanuts.
Read this article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/13/AR2009081303399.html
If they are filing Chap 7, that probably means they've already given up on the house:
Bankruptcy experts say the noticeable increase in Chapter 7 filings in the past year is an indicator of how grim people's situations have become, because Chapter 7 forces consumers to sell off their assets and can leave an even longer blemish on credit records. The number of Chapter 7 filings for the year ending June 30 totaled 907,603, up 47 percent from the previous year. In that time, Chapter 13 filings rose 12 percent to 344,421.
Henry Sommer, past president of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, said people had traditionally chosen to file for Chapter 13 to stave off foreclosure. But doing so does not decrease their monthly mortgage payments. Now that so many homeowners face higher interest rates and monthly payments on their adjustable-rate mortgages, they are giving up on their homes, he said. Instead, they are opting for Chapter 7 to take care of other forms of debt. "If your mortgage payment is an amount you can't afford going forward, then a Chapter 13 is not going to help you," Sommer said.