Stop Bill Collectors!

When filing for bankruptcy, or fighting a judgment, it’s important to understand what property and assets you can protect, as well as any earnings, savings and insurance you are entitle to claim as exempt. Declaring bankruptcy or being sued by a creditor doesn’t automatically mean that you will lose everything you have, but familiarizing yourself with the exemption laws for your state can ensure that you hang on to everything you are legally entitled to.

State exemptions for Pennsylvania.

As with other US residents, people living in Pennsylvania can claim property as exempt, so long as they have not used that property as security for a loan. The moment you sign over property as collateral for a loan, it ceases to be protected under exemption laws.

Exemptions that can be claimed for eligible property in Pennsylvania:

1. Homestead:While there is no homestead exemption in Pennsylvania, there is provision to claim under the common law of Tenancy by Entirety. This applies to married couples who own a home together (joint ownership). Tenancy by Entirety holds the home exempt against the debts of one spouse only. In other words, if you’re one half of a married couple and your spouse doesn’t have anything to do with your debt–you can’t lose your home.
2. wages: Wages of prison inmates and the wages of victims of abuse are exempt.
3. Life Insurance: Life insurance is exempt as long as the beneficiary is your spouse or child.
4. Personal property: Exemptions include bibles, schoolbooks, clothing, military uniforms, and sewing machines. There is also a ‘wild card’ exemption, which applies to $300 of any property whether it is cash, real property, sale proceeds or securities.

This list is just a summary. A complete list of every exemption can be found in my book, Stop Bill Collectors!

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Related posts:

1. Bankruptcy and Judgments: What are the State Exemptions for Rhode Island?
2. Bankruptcy and Judgments: What are the State Exemptions for South Dakota?
3. Bankruptcy and Judgments: What are the State Exemptions for Tennessee?
4. Judgments: What are the State Exemptions for Oregon?
5. Bankruptcy and Judgments: What are the State Exemptions for Texas?

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 9:45 am and is filed under State Specific Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.