Oregon State Bankruptcy Exemptions
18.395. Homestead exemption.
(1) A homestead shall be exempt from sale on execution, from the lien of every
judgment and from liability in any form for the debts of the owner to the
amount in value of $ 30,000, except as otherwise provided by law. The exemption
shall be effective without the necessity of a claim thereof by the judgment
debtor. When two or more members of a household are debtors whose interests in
the homestead are subject to sale on execution, the lien of a judgment or
liability in any form, their combined exemptions under this section shall not
exceed $ 39,600. The homestead must be the actual abode of and occupied by the
owner, or the owner's spouse, parent or child, but the exemption shall not be
impaired by:
(a) Temporary removal or temporary absence with the intention to reoccupy the
same as a homestead;
(b) Removal or absence from the property; or
(c) The sale of the property.
(2) The exemption shall extend to the proceeds derived from such sale to an
amount not exceeding $ 30,000 or $ 39,600, whichever amount is applicable under
subsection (1) of this section, if the proceeds are held for a period not
exceeding one year and held with the intention to procure another homestead
therewith.
(3) The exemption period under subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this section shall
be one year from the removal, absence or sale, whichever occurs first.
(4) When the owner of a homestead has been granted a discharge in bankruptcy or
has conveyed the homestead property, the value thereof, for the purpose of
determining a leviable interest in excess of the homestead exemption, shall be
the value on the date of the petition in bankruptcy, whether the value is
determined in the bankruptcy proceedings or not, or on the date the conveyance
becomes effective, whichever shall first occur. However, with respect to
judgments not discharged in the bankruptcy, or entered against the owner after
discharge, the value on the effective date of conveyance shall be controlling.
(5) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, no homestead that is
the actual abode of and occupied by the judgment debtor, or that is the actual
abode of and occupied by a spouse, dependent parent or dependent child of the
judgment debtor, shall be sold on execution to satisfy a judgment that at the
time of entry does not exceed $ 3,000. However, such judgment shall remain a
lien upon the real property, and the property may be sold on execution:
(a) At any time after the sale of the property by the judgment debtor; and
(b) At any time after the property is no longer the actual abode of and
occupied by the judgment debtor or the spouse, dependent parent or dependent
child of the judgment debtor.
(6) The limitation on execution sales imposed by subsection (5) of this section
is not impaired by temporary removal or temporary absence with the intention to
reoccupy the property as a homestead.
(7) The limitation on execution sales imposed by subsection (5) of this section
does not apply if two or more judgments are owing to a single judgment creditor
and the total amount owing to the judgment creditor, determined by adding the
amount of each individual judgment as of the date the judgment was entered, is
greater than $ 3,000.
(8) Upon the issuance of an order authorizing sale as provided in ORS 18.536,
and in conformance with subsection (5) of this section, the levying officer may
proceed to advertise and sell the property. If the homestead exemption applies,
the levying officer shall pay the homestead owner out of the proceeds the sum
of $ 30,000 $ 39,600, whichever is applicable, and apply the balance of the
proceeds on the execution. However, no sale shall be made where the homestead
exemption applies unless the sum bid for the homestead is in excess of the sum
of the costs of sale and $ 30,000 or $ 39,600, whichever is applicable. If no
such bid is received, the expense of the advertising and preparation for sale
shall be borne by the petitioner.
18.428. Mobile home exemption.
(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, a manufactured dwelling or floating
home and the property upon which the manufactured dwelling or floating home is
situated exempt from execution and from liability in any form for the debts of
the owner to the value of $ 23,000 if the manufactured dwelling or floating
home is the actual abode of and occupied by the owner, or by the spouse, parent
or child of the owner, the manufactured dwelling or floating home is occupied
as a sole residence and no other homestead exemption exists. When two or more
members of a household are debtors whose interests in the homestead are subject
to sale on execution, the lien of a judgment or liability in any form, their
combined exemptions under this section may not exceed $ 30,000. The exemption
shall be effective without the necessity of a claim thereof by the judgment
debtor.
(2) The exemption provided for in subsection (1) of this section is not
impaired by temporary removal or absence with the intention to reoccupy the
manufactured dwelling or floating home as a home, nor by the sale thereof, but
shall extend to the proceeds derived from such sale up to $ 23,000 or $ 30,000,
whichever amount is applicable under subsection (1) of this section, while the
proceeds are held for a period not exceeding one year and with the intention to
procure another homestead with those proceeds.
(3) Upon the issuance of an order authorizing sale as required by Section 16 of
this 2005 Act, the sheriff may proceed to sell the premises and, if the
homestead exemption applies, out of the proceeds pay the owner the sum of $
23,000 or $ 30,000, whichever amount is applicable under subsection (1) of this
section, and apply the balance of the proceeds on the execution. However, no
sale shall be made where the homestead exemption applies unless the sum bid for
the property is in excess of the sum of the costs of sale and $ 23,000 or $
30,000, whichever amount is applicable. If no such bid is received, the expense
of the sale shall be borne by the petitioner.
(4) The provisions of Subsections (1), (2), (3) and (7) of this section do not
apply to:
(a) Construction liens for work, labor or material done or furnished
exclusively for the improvement of the manufactured dwelling or floating home;
(b) Purchase money liens;
(c) Mortgages;
(d) Executions issued on a judgment recovered for the purchase price; or
(e) The enforcement of a seller's rights under a land sale contract, as defined
in section 37a of this 2005 act.
(5) If a debtor owns a manufactured dwelling or floating home but not the
property upon which the manufactured dwelling or floating home is situated,
subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4) of this section apply, but the value of the
debtor's interest exempt from execution and liability may not exceed $ 20,000
for an individual debtor, or $ 27,000 when two or more members of a household
are debtors whose interests in the homestead are subject to execution or
liability in any form.
(6) When the owner of a homestead under this section has been granted a
discharge in bankruptcy or has conveyed the property, the value thereof, for
the purpose of determining a leviable interest in excess of the homestead
exemption, shall be the value on the date of the petition in bankruptcy,
whether the value is determined in the bankruptcy proceedings or not, or on the
date the conveyance becomes effective, whichever shall first occur.
(7) Except as provided in subsection (9) of this section, a manufactured
dwelling or floating home, and the property upon which the manufactured
dwelling or floating home is situated, that is the actual abode of and occupied
by the judgment debtor, or that is the actual abode of and occupied by a
spouse, dependent parent or dependent child of the judgment debtor, may not be
sold on execution to satisfy a judgment that at the time of entry does not
exceed $ 3,000. The judgment shall remain a lien upon the real property owned
by the judgment debtor and upon which the manufactured dwelling or floating
home is situated, and the manufactured dwelling or floating home and real
property upon which the manufactured dwelling or floating home is situated may
be sold on execution:
(a) At any time after the sale of the manufactured dwelling or floating home by
the judgment debtor, or the sale of the real property on which the manufactured
dwelling or floating home is situated by the judgment debtor; or
(b) At any time after the manufactured dwelling or floating home is no longer
the actual abode of and occupied by the judgment debtor or the spouse,
dependent parent or dependent child of the judgment debtor.
(8) The limitation on execution sales imposed by subsection (7) of this section
is not impaired by temporary removal or absence with the intention to reoccupy
the manufactured dwelling, floating home and property as a home.
(9) The limitation on execution sales imposed by subsection (7) of this section
does not apply if two or more judgments are owing to a single judgment creditor
and the total amount owing to the judgment creditor, determined by adding the
amount of each individual judgment as of the date the judgment was entered, is
greater than $ 3,000.
(10) As used in this section:
(a) 'Floating home' has the meaning given that term in ORS 830.700.
(b) 'Manufactured dwelling' has the meaning given that term in ORS 446.003.
18.345. Exempt personal property generally.
(1) All property, including franchises, or rights or interest therein, of the
judgment debtor, shall be liable to an execution, except as provided in this
section and in other statutes granting exemptions from execution. The following
property, or rights or interest therein of the judgment debtor, except as
provided in ORS 18.305, shall be exempt from execution:
(a) Books, pictures and musical instruments to the value of $ 600.
(b) Wearing apparel, jewelry and other personal items to the value of $ 1,800.
(c) The tools, implements, apparatus, team, harness or library, necessary to
enable the judgment debtor to carry on the trade, occupation or profession by
which the judgment debtor habitually earns a living, to the value of $ 3,000.
(d) A vehicle to the value of $ 2,150. As used in this paragraph 'vehicle'
includes an automobile, truck, trailer, truck and trailer or other motor
vehicle.
(e) Domestic animals and poultry kept for family use, to the total value of $
1,000 and food sufficient to support such animals and poultry for 60 days.
(f) Household goods, furniture, radios, a television set and utensils all to
the total value of $ 3,000, if the judgment debtor holds the property primarily
for the personal, family or household use of the judgment debtor; provisions
actually provided for family use and necessary for the support of a householder
and family for 60 days and also 60 days' supply of fuel.
(g) All property of the state or any county or incorporated city therein, or of
any other public or municipal corporation of like character.
(h) All professionally prescribed health aids for the debtor or a dependent of
the debtor.
(i) Spousal support, child support, or separate maintenance to the extent
reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the
debtor.
(j) The debtor's right to receive, or property that is traceable to, an award
under any crime victim reparation law.
(k) The debtor's right to receive, or property that is traceable to, a payment
or payments, not to exceed a total of $ 10,000, on account of personal bodily
injury of the debtor or an individual of whom the debtor is a dependent.
(L) The debtor's right to receive, or property that is traceable to, a payment
in compensation of loss of future earnings of the debtor or an individual of
whom the debtor is or was a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for
the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor.
(m) Veterans' benefits and loans.
(n) The debtor's right to receive an earned income tax credit under the federal
tax laws and any moneys that are traceable to a payment of an earned income tax
credit under the federal tax laws.
(o) The debtor's interest, not to exceed $ 400 in value, in any personal
property. However, this exemption may not be used to increase the amount of any
other exemption.
(2) If the property claimed by the judgment debtor as exempt is adjudicated by
the court out of which the execution issued to be of a value in excess of that
allowed by the appropriate paragraph of subsection (1) of this section, the
officer seizing the property shall proceed to sell such property. Out of the
proceeds of such sale, the officer shall deduct costs of sale and shall pay to
the judgment debtor an amount equivalent to the value declared to be exempt by
any of the paragraphs of subsection (1) of this section and shall apply the
balance of the proceeds of sale on the execution. A sale may not be made under
such execution unless the highest bid made exceeds the appropriate exemption
claimed and allowed plus costs of sale. If no bid is received in excess of the
value allowed by the appropriate paragraph of subsection (1) of this section,
the costs of sale shall be borne by the judgment creditor.
(3) If two or more members of a household are joint judgment debtors, each
judgment debtor shall be entitled to claim the exemptions in subsection (1)(a),
(b), (c), (d) and (o) of this section in the same or different properties. The
exemptions provided by subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (j), (k) and (o) of
this section, when claimed for jointly owned property, may be combined at the
option of the debtors.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law except ORS 657.855, if a writ of
garnishment or other execution is issued to collect past due support as defined
in ORS 18.600, 75 percent of unemployment compensation benefits, workers'
compensation benefits and other benefits paid to the debtor by the United
States, by the state or by a political subdivision of the state are exempt. The
exemption related to unemployment compensation benefits provided by this
subsection is subject to ORS 657.855. The exemption provided by this subsection
applies without regard to whether the payment is made on a periodic basis or in
a lump sum, including any lump sum payable pursuant to a settlement or
judgment. Notwithstanding subsection (1)(k) of this section, if a payment is
made under a settlement or judgment on account of personal bodily injury and
the garnishment or other execution is issued to collect past due support as
defined in ORS 18.600, the lesser of 75 percent of the payment or $ 7,500 is
exempt.
18.348. Certain funds exempt when deposited in account; limitations.
(1) All funds exempt from execution and other process under ORS 18.358, 18.385
(2) to (4), 238.445, 344.580, 348.863, 401.405, 407.595, 411.760, 414.095,
655.530, 656.234, 657.855 and 748.207 and
38 U.S.C. 3101 and
42 U.S.C. 407 shall remain exempt when deposited in an account of a
judgment debtor as long as the exempt funds are identifiable.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the provisions of
subsection (1) of this section do not apply to any accumulation of funds
greater than $ 7,500.
(3) Subsection (2) of this section does not apply to funds exempt from
execution or other process under
42 U.S.C. 407.
18.362. Exemption for firearms.
Every citizen of this state above the age of 16 years shall be entitled to
have, hold and keep, for the own use and defense of the citizen and shall have
exempt from execution one rifle or shotgun and one pistol. The combined value
of all firearms claimed as exempt under this section may not exceed $ 1,000.
238.445. Benefits exempt from execution, bankruptcy and certain taxes;
exceptions.
(1) Except as provided in this section, the right of a person to a pension, an
annuity or a retirement allowance, to the return of contribution, the pension,
annuity or retirement allowance itself, any optional benefit or death benefit,
or any other right accrued or accruing to any person under the provisions of
this chapter or ORS chapter 238A, and the money in the various funds created by
ORS 238.660 and 238.670, shall be exempt from garnishment and all state, county
and municipal taxes heretofore or hereafter imposed, except as provided under
ORS chapter 118, shall not be subject to execution, garnishment, attachment or
any other process or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law
heretofore or hereafter existing or enacted, and shall be unassignable.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to state personal income
taxation of amounts paid under this chapter and ORS chapter 238A.
(3) Unless otherwise ordered by a court under ORS 25.387, the exemption from
execution or other process granted under this section applies to 75 percent of
amounts paid under this chapter and ORS chapter 238A if the execution or other
process is issued for a support obligation or an order or notice entered or
issued under ORS chapter 25, 107, 108, 109, 110, 416, 419B or 419C.
344.580. Payments exempt from process.
Any payments made to an individual with an occupational handicap as maintenance
under ORS 344.511 to 344.690 and 344.710 to 344.730 shall not be transferable
or assignable at law or in equity. None of the money payable under ORS 344.511
to 344.690 and 344.710 to 344.730 shall be subject to execution, levy,
attachment, garnishment or other legal process or to the operation of any
bankruptcy or insolvency law.
411.760. Assistance grants are inalienable.
All moneys granted under the provisions of ORS 411.060, 411.070 and 411.710 to
411.730 shall be inalienable by any assignment or transfer and shall be exempt
from garnishment, levy or execution under the laws of this state.
414.095. Exemptions applicable to payments.
Neither medical assistance nor amounts payable to vendors out of public
assistance funds are transferable or assignable at law or in equity and none of
the money paid or payable under the provisions of this chapter is subject to
execution, levy, attachment, garnishment or other legal process.
401.405. Benefits not assignable; exempt from execution, attachment and
garnishment.
No benefits payable under ORS 401.355 to 401.465 are subject to assignment
prior to their receipt by the person entitled thereto, nor shall they pass by
operation of law. These benefits and the right to receive them are also exempt
from seizure on execution, attachment or garnishment, or by the process of any
court.
748.207. Benefits exempt from execution.
No money or other benefit, charity, relief or aid to be paid, provided or
rendered by any society, shall be liable to attachment, garnishment or other
process, or to be seized, taken, appropriated or applied by any legal or
equitable process or operation of law to pay any debt or liability of a member
or beneficiary, or any other person who may have a right thereunder, either
before or after payment by the society.
743.046. Exemption of proceeds of individual life insurance other than annuities.
(1) When a policy of insurance is effected by any person on any person's own
life or on another life in favor of some person other than that person having
an insurable interest in the life insured, the lawful beneficiary thereof,
other than that person or that person's legal representative, is entitled to
its proceeds against the creditors or representatives of the person effecting
the policy.(2) The person to whom a policy of life insurance is made payable
may maintain an action thereon in the person's own name.
(3) A policy of life insurance payable to a beneficiary other than the estate of
the insured, having by its terms a cash surrender value available to the
insured, is exempt from execution issued from any court in this state and in
the event of bankruptcy of such insured is exempt from all demands in legal
proceeding under such bankruptcy.
(4) Subject to the statute of limitations, the amount of any premiums paid in
fraud of creditors for such insurance, with interest thereon, shall inure to
their benefit from the proceeds of the policy. The insurer issuing the policy
shall be discharged of all liability thereon by payment of its proceeds in
accordance with its terms unless, before such payment, the insurer has received
at its home office written notice by or in behalf of some creditor, with
specifications of the amount claimed, claiming to recover for certain premiums
paid in fraud of creditors.
(5) The insured under any policy within this section shall not be denied the
right to change the beneficiary when such right is expressly reserved in the
policy.
(6) This section does not apply to annuity policies.
743.047. Exemption of proceeds of group life insurance.
(1) A policy of group life insurance or the proceeds thereof payable to a
person or persons other than the individual insured or the individual's estate
shall be exempt from debts and claims of creditors or representatives of the
individual insured and, in the event of bankruptcy of the individual insured,
from all demands in legal proceedings under such bankruptcy.
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section do not apply to group life
insurance issued to a creditor covering the creditor's debtors to the extent
that such proceeds are applied to payment of the obligation for the purpose of
which the insurance was so issued.
743.049. Exemption of proceeds of annuity policies; assignability of rights.
(1) The benefits, rights, privileges and options which are due or prospectively
due an annuitant under any annuity policy issued before, on or after June 8,
1967, shall not be subject to execution, nor shall the annuitant be compelled
to exercise any such rights, powers or options, nor shall creditors be allowed
to interfere with or terminate the policy, except:
(a) As to amounts paid for or as premium on any such annuity with intent to
defraud creditors, with interest thereon, and of which the creditor has given
the insurer written notice at its home office prior to the making of the
payments to the annuitant out of which the creditor seeks to recover. Any such
notice shall specify the amount claimed or such facts as will enable the
insurer to ascertain such amount, and shall set forth such facts as will enable
the insurer to ascertain the annuity policy, the annuitant and the payments
sought to be avoided on the ground of fraud.
(b) The total exemption of benefits presently due and payable to any annuitant
periodically or at stated times under all annuity policies under which the
person is an annuitant shall not at any time exceed $ 500 per month for the
length of time represented by such installments. Such periodic payments in
excess of $ 500 per month shall be subject to garnishee execution to the same
extent as are wages and salaries.
(c) If the total benefits presently due and payable to any annuitant under all
annuity policies under which the person is an annuitant shall at any time
exceed payment at the rate of $ 500 per month, the court may order such
annuitant to pay to a judgment creditor or apply on the judgment, in
installments, the portion of such excess benefits as to the court may appear
just and proper, after due regard for the reasonable requirements of the
judgment debtor and family, if dependent upon the judgment debtor, as well as
any payments required to be made by the annuitant to other creditors under
prior court orders.
(2) If the policy so provides, the benefits, rights, privileges or options
accruing under the policy to a beneficiary or assignee shall not be
transferable nor subject to commutation, and if the benefits are payable
periodically or at stated times, the same exemptions and exceptions contained
in this section for the annuitant shall apply with respect to such beneficiary
or assignee.
743.050. Exemption of proceeds of health insurance.
Except as may otherwise be expressly provided by the policy, the proceeds or
avails of all health insurance policies and of provisions providing benefits on
account of the insured's disability which are supplemental to life insurance
policies, issued before, on or after June 8, 1967, shall be exempt from all
liability for any debt of the insured, and from any debt of the beneficiary
existing at the time the proceeds are made available for the use of the
beneficiary.
657.855. Benefits not assignable; waiver of rights invalid.
(1) Except as provided in this section, benefits due under this chapter may not
be assigned, pledged, encumbered, released or commuted and shall, except as
otherwise provided in this chapter, be exempt from all claims of creditors and
from levy, execution and attachment or remedy for recovery or collection of a
debt, which exemption may not be waived. No agreement by an individual to waive
the individual's rights under this chapter is valid.
(2) The exemption from execution or other process granted under this section
applies to only 75 percent of benefits payable under this chapter if the
execution or other process is issued for a child support obligation or an order
or notice entered pursuant to ORS chapter 25, 107, 108, 109, 110, 416, 419B or
419C and the child support obligation or the order or notice is being enforced
pursuant to a plan approved under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.
656.234. Compensation not assignable nor to pass by operation of law; certain
benefits subject to child support obligations.
(1) No moneys payable under this chapter on account of injuries or death are
subject to assignment prior to their receipt by the beneficiary entitled
thereto, nor shall they pass by operation of law. All such moneys and the right
to receive them are exempt from seizure on execution, attachment or
garnishment, or by the process of any court.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section:
(a) Moneys payable under ORS 656.210 and 656.212 are subject to an order to
enforce child support obligations, and spousal support when there is a current
support obligation for a joint child of the obligated parent and the person to
whom spousal support is owed, under ORS 25.378; and
(b) Moneys payable under ORS 656.206, 656.214, 656.236 and 656.289 (4) are
subject to an order to enforce child support obligations under ORS 25.378.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 25.378 and 25.414, the amount of child
support obligation subject to enforcement may not exceed:
(a) One-fourth of moneys paid under ORS 656.210 and 656.212 or the amount of the
current support to be paid as continuing support, whichever is less, or, if
there is no current support obligation and the withholding is for arrearages
only, 15 percent of the moneys paid under ORS 656.210 and 656.212 or the amount
previously paid as current support, whichever is less;
(b) One-fourth of moneys paid in a lump sum award under ORS 656.210 and 656.212
when the award becomes final by operation of law or waiver of the right to
appeal its adequacy;
(c) One-fourth of moneys paid under ORS 656.206, 656.214 and 656.236; or
(d) One-fourth of the net proceeds paid to the worker in a disputed claim
settlement under ORS 656.289 (4).
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, when withholding is
only for arrearages assigned to this or another state, the Department of
Justice may set a lesser amount to be withheld if the obligor demonstrates the
withholding is prejudicial to the obligor's ability to provide for a child the
obligor has a duty to support.
65.870. Burial lots or space; use, exemption from taxation, execution and liens;
lien for purchase price of gravestone.
Burial lots or space for burial of incinerate remains in buildings or grounds
sold by a nonprofit corporation organized and existing solely for the purposes
of either owning and operating a cemetery or cremating dead bodies and burying
and caring for incinerate remains shall be for the sole purpose of interment or
deposit and safekeeping of incinerate remains. Such lots or space shall be
exempt from execution, attachment or other lien or process, if used as intended
by the purchaser thereof from such corporation, or the assigns or
representatives of the purchaser, exclusively for burial purposes, and in no
wise with a view to profit. Such lots or space shall be exempt from taxation as
provided in ORS 307.150. The vendor of any gravestone, however, shall not be
prevented from having and enforcing a lien thereon for all or part of its
purchase price. If a suit is brought to enforce such a lien, the judgment
therein is enforceable thereafter; and, for the purpose of enabling the lien to
be had and enforced, the gravestone shall be deemed personal property and may
be severed and removed, under execution and order of sale, from the lot where
it is situated and may be sold in the same manner as any other personal
property.
655.530. Assignment of benefits under ORS 655.505 to 655.555.
No benefits payable under ORS 655.505 to 655.555 are subject to assignment
prior to their receipt by the person entitled thereto, nor shall they pass by
operation of law. These benefits and the right to receive them are also exempt
from seizure on execution, attachment or garnishment, or by the process of any
court.
407.595. Loans not subject to execution or assignment; rules.
No right, payment or proceeds of any loan made under ORS 407.125 or statutes
supplementary thereof shall be subject to garnishment, attachment or execution
or the claim of any creditor; nor shall any such right or payment be capable of
assignment except as may be necessary for completion of any loan applied for
and then only under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the
Director of Veterans' Affairs.
Note: Exemptions may have changed since our last update.
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