Tennessee Bankruptcy Exemptions

Tennessee bankruptcy exemption laws protect the things you'll need to work and live from creditors when you file for bankruptcy and are essential to a fresh start. Because bankruptcy exemptions protect only essential assets, not unnecessary luxury goods, it's important to become familiar with them before filing for bankruptcy to avoid costly property loss.

Using Exemptions When Filing for Bankruptcy in Tennessee

Tennessee is known as an "opt-out" state, meaning that residents can't use the federal bankruptcy exemptions. You're limited to Tennessee's state exemption laws and federal nonbankruptcy exemptions.

Other Tennessee Bankruptcy Exemptions

Below, you'll find more Tennessee exemptions. However, it’s not an exhaustive list. Also, as with all laws, exemption laws can change. Be sure to check for current amounts and read the statute for qualification requirements (we haven’t included them here).

Tennessee Public Benefits

• 13-11-115 - Relocation assistance payments.
• 26-2-111(1)(A) - Unemployment compensation; Social Security; local public assistance.
• 26-2-111(1)(B) - Veterans' benefits.
• 26-2-111(2)(A); 29-13-111 - Crime victims' compensation up to $5,000.
• 50-6-223 - Workers' compensation.
• 71-2-216 - Old-age assistance.
• 71-4-117 - Aid to the blind.
• 71-4-1112 - Aid to disabled.

Tennessee Insurance Exemptions

• 26-2-110 - Disability, accident or health. benefits for a resident and citizen of Tennessee.
• 26-2-111(1)(C) - Disability or illness benefits.
• 56-7-203 - Life insurance or annuity.
• 56-25-403 - Fraternal benefit society benefits.

How to Verify Available Exemptions in Tennessee

Almost everyone who files for bankruptcy benefits from meeting with a bankruptcy lawyer. A local bankruptcy attorney will ensure a smooth and uneventful bankruptcy by complying with filing requirements and helping you protect all possible property.

How Long Must You Live in Tennessee to Use Its Exemptions?

You must have lived in Tennessee for at least two years to use its exemptions; otherwise, you'll use the previous state's exemptions. To prevent people from abusing the system, filers must have lived in the state for at least two years, or they must use the previous state's exemptions. Here's how it works.

• If you've made your permanent home (your "domicile") in your current state for at least two years, you can use that state's exemptions (or the federal exemptions if allowed).
• If your domicile hasn't been in the same state for two years, the rules get more complicated: you'll choose the state you lived in the longest during the 180 days immediately before the two years before filing.

Did you get that? If not, here's a way to figure it out. Count back two-and-a-half years, then ask yourself where you lived the longest during the first six months of that two-and-a-half-year period.

Example. Suppose you planned to file on January 1, 2027. Your two-and-a-half-year period would start on July 1, 2024, and you'd qualify to use the exemptions of whichever state you resided in the most from July 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. You wouldn't have to file your case there, but you'd use that state's exemptions. (11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A).)

Special Homestead Exemption Rules

The homestead exemption protects your ownership interest in your home. You'll need to read Tennessee's homestead statute to determine the specifics, such as the amount of equity covered, whether the exemption protects a manufactured home, and whether you need to file a homestead exemption with the county clerk.

What Happens to Nonexempt Property in Tennessee Bankruptcy?

It depends on the chapter you file. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you lose property not covered by an exemption. The bankruptcy trustee responsible for managing your case will sell the property for the benefit of your creditors.

In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can keep all your property. However, that luxury comes at a price: you'll pay your creditors the value of any property not covered by an exemption in your Chapter 13 repayment plan. (11 U.S.C. § 1325.)

Can You Keep a Financed Home or Car in a Tennessee Bankruptcy?

If you still owe a balance on your home mortgage or car loan and want to keep the property, you must make the payments as agreed to prevent the lender from foreclosing or repossessing it. That's because when you purchased it, you gave the lender a property "lien." The lien created a secured debt, allowing the lender to take back the property if you don't pay as agreed, even in bankruptcy.

Protecting Financed Property in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 doesn't have a mechanism to catch up on a mortgage or car payment over time, so the payment must be current. You'll lose the property if you're behind on payments and file for Chapter 7. The lender will ask the bankruptcy court to allow it to proceed with foreclosure or repossession during the bankruptcy, or wait until Chapter 7 ends.

Protecting Financed Property in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

You don't lose property in Chapter 13. However, before the bankruptcy judge approves or "confirms" your plan, you must prove you earn enough to make the monthly payment and pay the late payments by the end of the three- to five-year plan. Some filers can pay less on financed property if they qualify to reduce an auto loan to the car's value or strip a junior mortgage, credit line, or lien from a home. (11 U.S.C. § 1322.)