What are exemptions?
Exempt property is the property you get to keep in bankruptcy. It includes all the important things like home, car, furniture, appliance, employer sponsored retirement plans etc. Common non-exempt items are boats, trailers, gun collections and the like although if you owe money on them you can often keep those too. Your Iowa bankruptcy attorney can advise you on what to do about any non-exempt items.
Oregon laws provide for a variety of property tax exemptions for both qualifying individuals and certain organizations. Each type of exemption has specific qualifications. Property tax exemptions are not automatic. Application for exemption must be made between January 1 and April 1 or April 15 of the year for which the exemption is being requested, depending on the type of exemption requested.
The Bankruptcy Code allows an individual debtor to hold back from the bankruptcy process certain property. Such property is called an exempt asset. Exempt assets are protected by state law from distribution to creditors. Examples of exempt assets include vehicles up to a certain value, equity in a home up to a certain value, and tools of your trade. Exemptions must be claimed or lost and they are claimed on Schedule C. If no one objects to the claimed exemptions within a specified time, the assets may not be part of your bankruptcy estate. The Bankruptcy Code allows states to choose to use their own exemptions rather than the exemptions listed in 11 U.S.C. §522, and Colorado has done that. Colorado State Exemptions can be found in the Colorado Revised Statutes, which are available at law libraries and at the Office of Legislative Legal Services at http://198.187.128.12/colorado/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0. Many of the Colorado exemptions can be found at Colo. Rev. Stat. §§
Exemptions are protected allowances for the value in certain assets. For example, a homestead exemption protects the equity you have in your home, up to a certain value. All States have different exemption laws which protect the value in certain assets. In most circumstances, you will be able to keep all of your property since Colorado has some of the best exemptions in the country. However, you need a qualified Colorado bankruptcy attorney to discover any possible problems prior to filing your bankruptcy case. We cannot tell you how many times we see a person in court loose a house, car or motorcycle because they either did not have an attorney or used a bankruptcy filing service and did not have any attorney representation. Hiring an attorney is a small price to pay in order to insure that you will not have any unexpected surprises.
11 U.S.C. 522(b) allows an individual debtor to exempt real, personal, or intangible property from the property of the estate. State law protects exempt assets from distribution to your creditors. Typically, exempt assets include vehicles up to a certain dollar amount, the equity in your home up to a certain amount, and tools of the trade. Exemptions are claimed on Schedule C. As with all schedules, it is important to fully complete and provide all the information requested. If no one objects to the exemptions you have listed within the time frame specified by the bankruptcy court, these assets will not be a part of your bankruptcy estate and will not be used to pay creditors through your bankruptcy case. Deciding which assets are exempt and how and if you can protect these assets from your creditors can be one of the more important and difficult aspects of your bankruptcy case. It is extremely important to consult an attorney if you have any questions regarding the issue of exempt ass
