The Uncommon Exemptions - Multipart Series

This week, we begin a series of blog posts discussing the uncommon exemptions in a North Carolina bankruptcy. As a bit of definition, I am going to use the term uncommon fairly generously. There are also what I would call "exotic exemptions" that few would ever encounter. An example of an exotic exemption is that for a Medal of Honor pension under 38 U.S.C. 1562(c). Instead, we target the several property exemptions are used occasionally, but not to the point of ubiquity. In my experience, the most commonly claimed North Carolina exemptions include:

• Residential/Homestead Exemption of $35,000.00 (NCGS 1C-1601(a)(1))
• Car/Motor Vehicle Exemption of $3,500.00 (NCGS 1C-1601(a)(3))
• Personal/Household Property Exemption of $5,000.00-$9,000.00 (NCGS 1C-1601(a)(4))
• Wildcard Exemption of up to $5,000.00 (NCGS 1C-1601(a)(2))

These four are very frequently claimed by debtors. Typically, if a person has heard about the existence of the property allowances that exemptions provide in bankruptcy, he or she has some awareness of exemptions in these four categories.

So, with this series, we hope to inform you about some of the less common or less known exemptions available to debtors in North Carolina. We will include exemptions under the North Carolina exemption statute (NCGS 1C-1601(a)), other provisions and protections in North Carolina law, and non-bankruptcy federal exemptions.