Bankruptcy FAQ

• Expensive musical instruments, unless the debtor is a professional musician;
  
• Collections of stamps, coins, and other valuable items;
  
• Family heirlooms;
  
• Cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and other investments;
  
• A second car or truck; and
  
• A second or vacation home.

Certain types of property are exempt, however, which means that the debtor can keep them. Exempt property can include:

• Motor vehicles, up to a certain value;
  
• Reasonably necessary clothing;
  
• Reasonably necessary household goods and furnishings;
  
• Household appliances;
  
• Jewelry, up to a certain value;
  
• Pensions;
  
• A portion of the equity in the debtor's home;
  
• Tools of the debtor's trade or profession, up to a certain value;
  
• A portion of unpaid but earned wages;
  
• Public benefits, including public assistance (welfare), Social Security, and unemployment compensation, accumulated in a bank account; and
  
• Damages awarded for personal injury.