Session Description
In February 2024, I proposed a motor vehicle exemption for the State of South Dakota, which was ultimately killed in the senate judiciary. Part of my preparation for the proposal to the senate was to justify a $5,000 exemption in our state. This led me to questions of why motor vehicles matter in bankruptcy/levy process, and extensive research on WHY they matter for each and every state to allow debtors to protect at least one vehicle. This is an important topic because of the significant role of vehicles in American culture, as well as agricultural communities like us in the midwest. Stale exemption laws lead to outdated laws, and stagnate bankruptcy reform. The longer a state waits to update these laws, the harder they become to pass through even minimal changes in states like South Dakota. I have attached my recent article discussing some of this information from Nortons Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will learn:
-The history of exemption laws, §522 and the history of the "opt out" provisions.
-Overview on different states' motor vehicle exemption laws, and how those come into play with other relevant exemptions such as tools of the trade exemptions, wildcard exemptions, and agriculture/farming exemptions.
-Gain insight into strategies to keep their state's exemption laws relevant (i.e. are your state's exemption laws current or outdated? How can we stay informed on neighboring states' exemptions?)
-Develop an understanding of why such little information and research exists on motor vehicle exemptions.
-Understand the correlation between home equity and motor vehicle exemptions.
-Participants will learn specific problems with state vs. federal exemption laws (i.e. is the state exemption law better than §522's provisions?).
