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California bankruptcy laws allow the use of federal supplemental exemption in conjunction with California exemptions. These laws are derived from federal bankruptcy laws, from Title 11 of the United States Code.

The state of California is divided into four bankruptcy districts, each with a bankruptcy court named after the district. They are California Eastern bankruptcy court, California Northern bankruptcy court, California Southern bankruptcy court, and California Central bankruptcy court. California bankruptcy laws give the option to pay secured loans, allowing the property to be repossessed or purchased at its current fair market value. Exemptions are shown in the California bankruptcy exemptions chart.

California bankruptcy laws allow different sets of exemptions, mainly System 1 and System 2. One has the right to choose a suitable system. In System 1, the exemptions available are homestead (to $50,000 if single and not disabled, to $75,000 for families, and to $125,000 for senior citizens), personal properties (bank deposits to $2,000, building materials to $2,000, burial plots, appliances, furnishings, clothing and food, health aids, jewelry and heirlooms to $5,000, motor vehicles to $1,900, and personal injury and wrongful death claims), insurances of all kind, pensions, benefits (workers’ compensation, health aid, and unemployment benefits), tools of trade (tools, implements, materials, instruments, uniforms, books, furnishings, equipment, vessel and motor vehicle to $5,000), and wages to a minimum of 75%.

System 2 differs from System 1 in the following exemptions: homestead to $17,425 for all categories; jewelry to $1,150; motor vehicle to $2,775; personal benefits to $17,425; tools for work to $1,750; pension benefits only for ERISA-qualified benefits; no wage exemption; and wild card exemption to $925.

The new California bankruptcy law that has taken effect from October 17, 2005, states that if you want to take advantage of California bankruptcy exemptions, you must be a permanent resident of the state of California for the two-year period prior to filing bankruptcy. Otherwise, you must spend most of the 180 days prior to these two years in the state of California.

The declaration of bankruptcy allows debtors to solve significant financial debts after their non-exempt assets are distributed. Bankruptcy in the United States falls under Federal jurisdiction by the United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 8).

However, bankruptcy is implemented as statute law, and relevant statutes are incorporated within Bankruptcy Code of Title 11 of the United States Code. At present, two forms of filing bankruptcy are available to individuals: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation of assets, while Chapter 13 involves a reorganization by which the debtor creates a three- to five-year payment plan.

Although bankruptcy cases are filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court, they are often highly dependent upon state laws. Hawaii is one of the thirteen states in the U.S. that offers a choice between federal and state bankruptcy laws.

Hawaii bankruptcy laws provide exemptions that save a part of the properties from bankruptcy. Details of the exempted property are provided in the Hawaii bankruptcy chart. When bankruptcy is filed in Hawaii, an individual gets federal exemption in addition to Hawaii exemptions. According to Hawaii bankruptcy laws, an exemption limit applies to any equity in property secured by loans. Properties included in the Hawaii exemption chart are homestead (up to $30,000 for senior citizens and $20,000 for others), all insurances, property of business partnerships, pensions, personal property such as appliances, books, burial plots, clothes, jewelry to $1,000, and motor vehicles to $2,575, public benefits, tools of trade, and wages to minimum of 80%. No wildcard exemptions are given in Hawaii.

In Hawaii bankruptcy law, Chapter 7 filing has advantages such as a complete fresh start, immediate protection, lack of a minimum limit on the debt, and quick discharge of the case. The advantages of a Hawaii Chapter 13 payment plan are that it enables a person to keep his property, has more dischargeable debts, gives more payment time, and separates creditors by class. Major changes in the new act effective October 17, 2005, include a means test, proof of income, state exemptions, counseling, and child support.

Declaring bankruptcy is an important decision and quite complicated in its implementation. Hiring an attorney with experience in the field concerned is generally recommended.

Bankruptcy exemptions are laws written by both the state and federal government to ensure that a debtor’s assets are protected in order to ensure a fresh start after filing for bankruptcy. When filing for bankruptcy, debtors are required to fill out quite a few papers. Among these is the Schedule C form. In this form, a debtor will list the property that he is claiming to be exempt.

The laws that govern bankruptcy exemptions are numerous, but a debtor has two options: choose to follow state exemption laws or federal exemption laws. However, only 15 states and Washington D.C. allow a debtor to choose between federal or state exemption laws. These states are: Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Defining what kind of property is exempt under federal law

Again, only the 15 states mentioned before and Washington D.C. allow a debtor to use federal exemption laws. Also note that these exemptions can be doubled if a debtor is filing with his spouse.

Real property

Real property, co-op or mobile home up to $16,150.00

Personal Property

Animals, appliances, books, clothing, crops, furnishings, household goods, and musical instruments: up to $425.00 per item, $8,625.00 total.

Vehicles: up to $2,950.00

Jewelry: up to $1,225.00

Tools of trade, i.e. work tools: up to $1,625.00

Health Aides: unlimited

Burial plots: up to $16,500.00

All other property: up to $8,075.00 of