MN Car Exemption Question

[angles]

I briefly looked at the exemptions for the state of MN, but the car exemption is not clear to me. can someone explain it better to me? also, I did not see anything for a wild card or cash, did I miss that?

the reason I ask is I have a friend who is filing in that state and I am trying to help out (mostly a sounding board - they have an attorney) but would like to understand the exemptions better.

[LadyInTheRed]

Here is what Nolo says about the MN vehicle exemption:

Motor Vehicle

You may exempt up to $4,600 in one motor vehicle. M.S. §550.37, subd 12a

If the motor vehicle has been modified at the cost of at least $3,450 to accommodate a disabled person, you may exempt up to $46,000 in the vehicle.

So, unless your friend is disabled and the vehicle has been modified, the exemption is $4,600. The exemptions do adjust every 2 years, so if you are finding conflicting information, that could be the reason.

Many states do not have wildcard exemptions. MN appears to be one of them. MN does allow debtors to use Federal Exemptions instead of state exemptions. Federal Exemptions do include a wildcard of $12,500 plus $11,850 of any unused portion of the homestead exemption.

You should suggest that your friend joint BK forum.

[angles]

I made the suggestion of joining the forum but I don't know if they signed up yet. I don't think they will go with the federal exemptions as their house has about 75K in equity and can be exempted in MN from what I understand. They are looking to replace an older car with a newer car (plus loan) as advised by the attorney and keep the replacement car after filing. I know that is standard BK attorney advice, but my point of view has always been where possible get out of debt not back into it.
just to add, in our case we argued with our attorney about buying a new car. he wanted us to buy one but I before filing. our car was old but still ran fine so we did not buy a new vehicle prior to filing. after closure, we took the money we were spending on our debt and put it towards a new car, free and clear, and without stress.
thanks for the reply BTW.