The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Monday that IRAs are exempt from creditors in bankruptcy cases won’t affect cases filed in Kansas.

State law already exempts such accounts. But a larger issue looms for Kansas homeowners, should Congress approve a bankruptcy overhaul that already has passed both the House and the Senate and now waits in conference committee.

For many homeowners, the new law would exempt only a $125,000 interest in a home, said John Hooge, a Lawrence attorney who has been handling bankruptcy cases for 27 years.

Exactly what that $125,000 would cover — equity or total value — likely will be left to the courts to decide, said Hooge, a critic of the legislation as he works to file cases on behalf of clients before the new law takes effect.