§3014 Exempt property

Summary

A debtor in a case under this chapter must pick one of two sets of property exemptions to protect some assets. The first is the property listed in 11 U.S.C. 522(d). The second is property exempt under other federal law or the state or local law where the debtor lived for the 180 days before filing (or for the longest part of that 180-day period), and it also covers interests held as tenants by the entirety, joint tenants, or in a community estate if those interests are protected by nonbankruptcy law. If a husband and wife are both debtors, they must choose the same option; if they cannot agree, the first option applies. A court can order the debtor to file a sworn statement describing each claimed exemption, its value, how that value was figured, and the type of ownership, and a copy must be given to the U.S. government’s lawyer. The U.S. or the debtor can ask for a hearing and the court will decide how much exemption applies. Unless it is obviously valid, the debtor must prove the exemption. Claiming an exemption stops the U.S. from selling or taking the property until the court rules, and the U.S. may not interfere with the debtor’s normal use of property it knows or should know is exempt. The rules apply separately to each debtor in a joint case, subject to the choice rule above.