BankruptcyAction.com Banner

Washington Bankruptcy Exemptions - WA Bankruptcy Exemptions

State or Federal Exemptions are Allowed

Click Here for Federal Exemptions

Washington Bankruptcy Exemptions

Homestead
$40,000*
Wearing Apparel
$1,000

Furs, jewelry, and personal ornaments for any individual, private libraries

$1,500
Family pictures and keepsakes
$1,500
Household goods, appliances, furniture, and home and yard equipment,
$2,700
Other personal property
$2,000
Motor vehicle
$2,500
Cash or bank accounts
$100
Two motor vehicles, farmer's equipment and tools
$5,000
Professional library, office furniture, office equipment and supplies
$5,000
Tools of trade
$5,000

* or the sum of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) in the case of
other personal property described in RCW 6.13.010.

Some other personal property exemption may include:

  • certain retirement plan benefits, insurance proceeds, public assistance and unemployment benefits. (RCW 6.15.010.)

In a bankruptcy proceeding, personal property exemptions may not be claimed by one spouse that is not a joint case or a joint administration of the estate with the bankruptcy estate of the other spouse where (a) bankruptcy is filed by both spouses within a six-month period, and (b) one spouse exempts property from property of the estate under the bankruptcy exemption provisions of
11 U.S.C. Sec. 522(d). (RCW 6.15.050(7).)

NOTE: These are the major bankruptcy exemptions.
Check with your bankruptcy lawyer for a full exemptions list

Homesteads:

  • The exemption for a homestead is limited to $125,000 if the property was acquired within the previous 1215 day (3.3 years). The cap is not applicable to any interest transferred from a debtor's previous principal residence (which was acquired prior to the beginning of such 1215-day period) ;
  • The value of the state homestead exemption is reduced by any addition to the value brought about on account of a disposition of nonexempt property made by the debtor (made with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors) during the 10 years prior to the bankruptcy filing.
  • An absolute $125,000 homestead cap applies if either:
    • the court determines that the debtor has beeen convicted of a felony demonstrating that the filing of the case was a abuse of the provision of the Bankruptcy Code; or
    • the debtor owes a debt arising from a violation of federal or state securities laws, fiduciary fraud, racketeering, or crimes or intentional torts that caused serious bodily injury or death in the preceeding 5 years. NOTE: This limitation is inapplicable if the homestead property is "reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor."

The state you use for your exemptions is:

  • The state you lived in for the 730 days (2 years) before filing; or
  • If you did not live in a single state in the previous 2 years you use the state where you lived the majority of the 180 period preceding the 2 year period; or
  • If the preceding renders you ineligible for any exemptions then the debtor is allowed to choose the federal exemptions.

Pension Plans exempt from seizure:

Employee contributions to ERISA qualified retirement plans, deferred compensation plans, tax-deferred annuities, and health insurance plans.

Education Funds exempt from seizure:

Funds placed in an educational retirement account or qualified State tuition programs at least 365 days prior to a bankruptcy filing, within the limits established by the Internal Revenue Code, and for the benefit of a child or grandchild of the debtor, are excluded from the debtor's estate, with a $5,000 limit on funds contributed between one and two years before the filing.

 

 

lifesaver Directory

Click the Button to Open  

Home

Are You Eligible to File Chapter 7?

Steps in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy  - PowerPoint Presentation

Find a Bankruptcy Lawyer

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy FAQs

Will using a Credit Counselor give me a better credit rating?

Debt Erased in a Bankruptcy

How Long in Bankruptcy

Cost of a Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Exemptions - Assets you keep.

Personal Bankruptcy

Free Credit Report & Credit Bureaus

Business Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Lawyers Locator

Privacy Policy

Disclaimer

Links

Help Keep This Service Free  

newLatest Bankruptcy Statistics

newAudio FAQs

After Bankruptcy Lenders
FREE LISTING FOR LENDERS

lifesaver Bankruptcy Lawyers:

List your Firm

Email Email us

Free Classified Ads