New York Property Exemptions

New York State Bankruptcy Exemptions:

Homestead exemption for real property:

• Not exceeding fifty thousand dollars in value above liens and encumbrance per debtor:
• A lot of land with a dwelling thereon,
• Shares of stock in a cooperative apartment corporation,
• Units of a condominium apartment, or
• A mobile home.

Motor vehicle:

One motor vehicle per debtor not exceeding twenty-four hundred dollars in value above liens and encumbrances.

Personal property:

Up to $5,000.00 in the value of the following:

• All stoves kept for use in your home and necessary fuel for sixty days; one sewing machine with its appurtenances;
• The family Bible, family pictures, and school books used by you or in the family; and other books, not exceeding fifty dollars in value, kept and used as part of your family library;
• A seat or pew occupied by you or your family in a place of public worship;
• Domestic animals with the necessary food for those animals for sixty days, provided that the total value of such animals and food does not exceed four hundred fifty dollars;
• All wearing apparel, household furniture, one refrigerator, one radio receiver, one television set, crockery, tableware and cooking utensils necessary for you and your family;
• A wedding ring;
• A watch not exceeding thirty-five dollars in value; and
• Necessary working tools and implements, including those of a mechanic, farm machinery, team, professional instruments, furniture and library, not exceeding six hundred dollars in value, together with the necessary food for the team for sixty days.

Cash:

If your personal assets are less than $2,500.00 and you do not take the homestead exemption above you may keep up to $2,500.00 in cash. Cash means currency of the United States at face value, savings bonds of the United States at face value, the right to receive a refund of federal, state and local income taxes, and deposit accounts in any state or federally chartered depository institution.

Income:

As necessary for your reasonable requirements:

• Ninety per cent of the income or other payments from a trust the principal of which is exempt under subdivision
• Ninety per cent of your earnings for the sixty days prior to filing bankruptcy;
• Maintenance and child support payments;
• Social security benefits, unemployment compensation or a local public assistance benefits; veterans' benefits; disability, illness, or unemployment benefits;
• Award under a crime victim's reparation law;
• A payment on account of the wrongful death of an individual of whom you were a dependent to the extent reasonably necessary for your support and your dependents;
• A payment, not to exceed seventy-five hundred dollars on account of personal bodily injury, not including pain and suffering or compensation for actual pecuniary loss to you or an individual of whom you are a dependent; and
• A payment in compensation of loss of future earnings of you or an individual of whom you are or were a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for your support and your dependents.

Retirement accounts:

Stock bonus, pension, profit sharing, or similar plan or contract on account of illness, disability, death, age, or length of service, individual retirement accounts, Keoghs, 401ks etc.

Security deposits for rent or utilities.

Trusts:

All property held in trust for you if the trust has been created by, or the fund held in trust has proceeded from, a person other than you.

Exemptions to members of armed forces:

The pay and bounty of a noncommissioned officer, musician or private in the armed forces of the United States or the state of New York; a land warrant, pension or other reward granted by the United States, or by a state, for services in the armed forces; a sword, horse, medal, emblem or device of any kind presented as a testimonial for services rendered in the armed forces of the United States or a state; and the uniform, arms and equipments which were used by a person in the service.

New York state college choice tuition savings plans:

• One hundred percent of monies in an account established in connection with a scholarship program established pursuant to such article is exempt;
• One hundred percent of monies in an account is exempt where you are the account owner and designated beneficiary of such account and is a minor; and
• An amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars in an account, or in the aggregate for more than one account, is exempt where you are the account owner of such account or accounts.

Life Insurance Policies (as quoted from Insurance Law § 3212):

• If a policy of insurance has been or shall be effected by any person on his own life in favor of a third person beneficiary, or made payable otherwise to a third person, such third person shall be entitled to the proceeds and avails of such policy as against the creditors, personal representatives, trustees in bankruptcy and receivers in state and federal courts of the person effecting the insurance.
• If a policy of insurance has been or shall be effected upon the life of another person in favor of the person effecting the same or made payable otherwise to such person, the latter shall be entitled to the proceeds and avails of such policy as against the creditors, personal representatives, trustees in bankruptcy and receivers in state and federal courts of the person insured. If the person effecting such insurance shall be the spouse of the insured, he or she shall be entitled to the proceeds and avails of such policy as against his or her own creditors, trustees in bankruptcy and receivers in state and federal courts.
• If a policy of insurance has been or shall be effected by any person on the life of another person in favor of a third person beneficiary, or made payable otherwise to a third person, such third person shall be entitled to the proceeds and avails of such policy as against the creditors, personal representatives, trustees in bankruptcy and receivers in state and federal courts of the person insured and of the person effecting the insurance.
• The person insured pursuant to paragraph one of this subsection or the person effecting the insurance other than the spouse of the insured pursuant to paragraph two hereof, and the person effecting the insurance pursuant to paragraph three hereof, or the executor or administrator of any such persons, or a person entitled to the proceeds or avails of such policy in trust for such persons shall not be deemed a third person beneficiary, assignee or payee.

Annuity contracts:

The benefits, rights, privileges and options which, under any annuity contract are due or prospectively due you if you paid for the annuity contract and it is reasonably required for you and your dependants and purchased more than six months prior to the bankruptcy.

Burial plot:

If you do not take the homestead exemption, up to one quarter of an acre of land used for burial and it must not contain any building or structure, except one or more vaults or other places of deposit for the dead, or mortuary monuments.

Miscellaneous:

As necessary for reasonable requirements:

• Any and all medical and dental accessions to the human body and all personal property or equipment that is necessary or proper to maintain or assist in sustaining or maintaining one or more major life activities or is utilized to provide mobility for a person with a permanent disability; and
• Any guide dog, service dog or hearing dog or any animal trained to aid or assist a person with a permanent disability and actually being so used by such person, together with any and all food or feed for any such dog or other animal.

Please note this list is not exclusive and all property exemptions are subject to exceptions.