North Dakota Bankruptcy Exemptions

This list of exemptions updated August 2007. References are to North Dakota Century Code Annotated unless otherwise noted. Federal bankruptcy exemptions are not available in North Dakota.

Homestead

28-22-02 & 47-18-01 - Real property, mobile home, or house trailer up to $80,000:

Personal Property

The following list applies to all debtors:

28-22-02 - Clothing; fuel and food to last 1 year; bible; books up to $100; family pictures; church pew; burial plots; crops or grain raised on the debtor's tract of land, limited to 1 tract of 160 acres; insurance proceeds for exempt property.

28-22-03.1 - Motor vehicle up to $1,200 ($32,000 if modified for a physically disabled person); personal injury recoveries up to $7,500; wrongful death recoveries up to $7,500.

28-22-03.1 - IN LIEU OF Homestead: cash to $7,500.

The following list applies to the head of household, not claiming crops or grain:

28-22-03 - $5,000 of any personal property; OR

28-22-04 - Furniture and bedding up to $1,000; books and musical instruments up to $1,500; tools and library of a professional up to $1,000; tools of a mechanic and stock in trade up to $1,000; and farm implements and livestock up to $4,500.

The following list applied to a non-head of household not claiming crops:

28-22-05 - $2,500 of any personal property.

Wages

32-09.1-.03 - The greater of the following: 40 times the federal minimum wage or minimum of 75% of disposable weekly earnings. Judge may approve more for low income debtor.

Pensions

11 U.S.C. § 522 - Tax exempt retirement accounts; Traditional and Roth IRAs up to $1,095,000 per person.

28-22-03.1 - Disabled veterans' benefits (does not include military retirement pay); annuities, pensions, IRAs, Keoghs, simplified employee plans up to $100,000. Together with the insurance exemption under this section total may not exceed $200,000. No limit however if needed for support.

28-22-19 - Public employees.

54-52.2-06 - Public employees deferred compensation.

Public Benefits

28-22-03.1 - Social Security.

28-22-19 - Public assistance; crime victims' compensation.

52-06-30 - Unemployment compensation.

52-09-22 - Survivor insurance and old age insurance program benefits.

65-05-29 - Workers' compensation.

Tools of Trade

See Personal Property section 2.

Insurance

26.1-15.1-18 & 26.1-33-40 – Fraternal benefit society benefits

26.1.33-40 - Life insurance proceeds payable to the decedent's estate (not to a specific beneficiary).

28-22-03.1 - Life insurance surrender value to $100,000 per policy if beneficiary is relative of the insured and the policy has been in existance for more than 1 year before filing for bankruptcy. No limit if needed for support.

Miscellaneous

14-09-09.31 - Child support payments.

Other - Add any applicable Federal Nonbankruptcy Exemptions

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