Minnesota state exemptions Archives - Better Call Dave

June 22, 2022October 13, 2022

Fresh Increases in Minnesota State Exemptions

By Dave Kelly, Minnesota Bankruptcy Lawyer

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you want to keep your assets and belongings, they have to be claimed as exempt under an applicable exemption law. In Minnesota there are two exemption laws to choose from, the federal list and the state list. I have written a lot elsewhere about why one would choose one list or the other. That is not my topic here. I just want to talk about how most of the state exemptions are going up in a few days. The federal exemptions were increased on April 1st this year. I covered that in a recent blog post.

On July 1st in even numbered years, certain parts of the Minnesota state exemptions are updated to keep up with inflation. Since this year is even numbered, we are about to have another update. I am glad to see that all the numbers which can be changed are going up.

Summary of Minnesota Exemption Increases

Household furniture, household goods increased from $11,250.00 to $11,700.00.
Wedding rings increased from $3,062.50 to $3,185.00.
Tools of the trade increased from $12,500.00 to $13,000.00.
Life insurance benefits increased from $50,000.00 to $52,000.00.
Additional dependent insurance benefits increased from $12,500.00 to $13,000.00.
Motor vehicle increased from $5,000.00 to $5,200.00.
Insurance policies increased from $10,000.00 to $10,400.00.
Employee benefits (retirement accounts) increased from $75,000.00 to $78,000.00.
Homestead (limited to 160 acres) increased from $450,000.00 to $480,000.00.
Homestead used primarily for agriculture increased from $1,125,000.00 to $1,200,000.00.

Our Minnesota State Exemptions Remain Far from Perfect

For a more complete rundown on how this all works, take a look at my exemptions page. These state exemptions leave a lot to be desired. They have a lot of gaps which seem to always allow the bankruptcy trustees to require my clients to buy back some of their stuff. Most jewelry is not exempt. Most electronics are not exempt. There is no exemption that covers tax refunds, and there are issues with money in bank accounts. I have ranted about this on this blog before. The legislature needs to fix it but they don’t.

The Minnesota state exemptions are primarily good for one thing. They allow you to protect lots of equity in your homestead, unlike the federal exemptions which are very limited in that area. I don’t think any of the increases here have kept up with the real rate of inflation; so in fact we seem to be loosing ground.

If you don’t properly claim any asset as exempt, you risk losing it to the trustee. It’s tricky and risky and should not be attempted without a lawyer.

April 26, 2022June 3, 2022

Qualifying For Chapter 7 and Protecting Assets now Easier

By David Kelly, Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney

Easier Qualifying for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Minnesota

The primary requirement for being able to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is to have your income below a certain level. Stated most simply, to qualify for Chapter 7 you want your income to be lower than the median income for your household size in your state. These levels are set by the Department of Justice, US Trustee’s Office; and new, higher numbers came out recently on April 1st. If your income is slightly above the median, there is a means test that you might be able to pass which would allow you to still file a Chapter 7. Doing the means test, however, can sometimes be an invitation to a close scrutiny of the case. Being below the median is best. Here are the April 2022 numbers and how much they just went up.

Minnesota Median Household Income April 2022

One person:    $  65,514 — Up $2,490

Two people:    $  86,358 — Up $3,875

Three people:  $ 106,445 — Up $4,776

Four people:   $ 125,753 — Up $5,533

Five people:   $ 135,653 — Up $6,543

Six people:    $ 145,553 — Up $7,443

More information at https://mn-bankruptcy.com/chapter7.html

Easier Protection for Your Stuff in Minnesota Chapter 7

As soon as you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the court appoints a trustee whose job it is to find assets that can be used to pay all or part of your debt. You really want the trustee to not be able to find any assets, or certainly not much for assets. The way to keep your assets away from the trustee is to claim them as exempt. What you can claim as exempt and how much is obviously very important. In Minnesota you have a choice between a state exemption list and a federal exemption list. In this post I am only talking about the federal list. The federal exemptions just went up in every category. Here are a few typical items and how much they went up. These are just a few examples. It is not anywhere near a complete list.

April 2022 Federal Exemptions

Household goods  $14,875  -  Up $1,475

Car              $ 4,450  -  Up $  450

Tools of Trade   $ 2,800  -  Up $  175

Cash value of
Life Insurance   $14,875  -  Up $1,475

Catch-all        $15,425  -  Up $1,525

More information at https://mn-bankruptcy.com/exemptions.html

There is now word on the street that a round of increases to the Minnesota state exemption list is being contemplated for July 1, 2022. Watch my blog for news about that.

September 11, 2018October 13, 2022

Recent Increases for the Minnesota State Exemptions

By David J. Kelly, Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney

If you’ve been reading any of my musings, you know that when you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, ownership of all your stuff is temporarily and theoretically transferred to a trustee appointed by the court. I say “theoretically” because normally the trustee doesn’t get to keep any of it, or at least gets to keep very little. The reason why the trustee can’t keep your assets is that – with the help of somebody like me – you are going to claim all or most of your stuff as exempt. There are two sets of exemptions in Minnesota to choose from: the federal exemptions and the Minnesota state exemptions. The federal exemptions tend to be much better than the Minnesota state exemptions, except in one area: equity in a homestead. If you own your home and you have more than just a little equity in your home, the Minnesota state exemptions are for you.

Several of the Minnesota exemptions are indexed for inflation. The resulting increases are only applied every few years. 2018 was one of those years. The new indexed numbers went into effect on July 1st. For example: the household goods exemption increased from $10,300 to $10,800; for wedding rings the exemption increased from $2,817.50 to $2,940 in value; for life insurance proceeds it increased from $46,000 to $48,000; and the tools of the trade exemption went from $11,500 to $12,000. The most significant increase in my opinion was the homestead exemption which went from $390,000 of equity to $420,000 of equity.

For more info about exempting your property so the bankruptcy trustee can’t have it, look at my exemption page. For a rant about what’s wrong with the Minnesota state exemptions, please take a look at my post Minnesota State Exemptions Still Leaking Like a Sieve. You might also want to take a look at this video: