Combined Auto & Wildcard Exemptions on Joint Filing

[easymoney]

Hi everyone,

Looking into filing a joint federal chapter 7 with my spouse. We each own a car outright in each of our names individually.

If one of us is over on the auto and wild card exemptions for one person individually, can we include the other spouse's auto and wild card exemption to cover my over the limit auto and wildcard exemption? The combined value, however, of both autos is below the combined auto and wild card exemptions for both of us. (Hope this makes sense!)

Easymoney

[keepsmiling]

I think this depends on local practice and possibly how your cars are titled. Have you asked your attorney? We were told we could stack exemptions here in our district.

[justbroke]

You would certainly need to determine that from your attorney or someone knowledgeable with Massachusetts exemptions. In some cases, the underlying State exemptions will read something such as "the value not exceeding $X,XXX in one (1) motor vehicle". That could make the difference on whether you can stack the allowances. As keepsmiling writes, how the vehicles are titled could play a role.

From what I understand for Massachusetts, is that you could use the unused portion of the other exemptions (such as the household furnishing exemption) to compensate. You need an overall strategy and that may include looking to the Federal Exemption scheme rather than Massachusett's exemption scheme.

This is definitely something you want to make sure you ask the advice of an attorney practicing in your District in Massachusetts. We can't provide legal advice and certainly would not like to see you lose property because of bad advice.

(I believe this may give you up to an extra $5,000 for each debtor as a wildcard...)

MGL 235, § 34 (16)
Seventeenth, The debtor’s aggregate interest in any personal property, not to exceed $1,000 in value, plus up to $5,000 of any unused dollar amount of the aggregate exemptions provided under clauses Second, Fifth and Sixteenth;