Oregon Bankruptcy Exemptions
 Oregon bankruptcy exemptions are the laws that let you keep your home, your car, your retirement, and most of what you own when you file for bankruptcy.
If you have been putting off bankruptcy because you are afraid of losing everything, this is the page that should ease your mind. At Hutchinson Legal Services, we use these exemptions to protect as much of your property as the law allows, and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy rarely means losing the things that matter most to you.
Here is the reality that surprises people: the large majority of filers keep all or nearly all of their property. Bankruptcy is built to give you a fresh start, not to leave you with nothing, and exemptions are the mechanism that makes that true.
Our firm has filed bankruptcy in Oregon since 1997, and protecting what you own is the part of the work we care about most. Before you file, you will know exactly what is safe.
What Are Bankruptcy Exemptions?
Bankruptcy exemptions are the laws that tell the court and the trustee which property you get to keep. Filing does not mean handing over everything you own. The system is designed to give you a fresh start, not to strip you bare, and exemptions are how it does that.
The fear that you will lose your home, your car, and everything else is the most common worry we hear, and for most people it is simply not how it works. The large majority of filers keep all or nearly all of their property. Exemptions are one piece of the broader bankruptcy options we go through with you, and they are usually the part that turns dread into relief.
Oregon or Federal Exemptions: You Get to Choose
Oregon is one of the states that lets you pick. You can claim the full set of Oregon state exemptions or the full set of federal bankruptcy exemptions, but you cannot mix and match, so the choice matters.
Which set protects more depends on what you own. Homeowners with real equity usually do better with Oregon’s exemptions, because the state homestead protection is built for that. People who rent, or who have little home equity but meaningful savings or vehicle equity, often come out ahead with the federal set and its larger wildcard. We compare both against your actual property and claim whichever one keeps more in your hands.
One catch worth knowing: to use Oregon’s exemptions, you generally need to have lived in Oregon for about two years before filing. If you moved here more recently, a prior state’s exemptions may apply instead, and that is something we sort out early. If your case is really a Washington filing, the rules shift again, which is why we keep a separate guide to Washington bankruptcy exemptions.
Your Bankruptcy Attorney in Beaverton
Scott M. Hutchinson has practiced bankruptcy law for more than 29 years and has filed over 2,000 bankruptcies. Exemption planning is where experience pays off: choosing the right set, valuing property realistically, and applying the wildcard where it does the most good are judgment calls, not box-checking. His attorney bio covers his background in full.
Early in his career, Scott worked both the debtor and creditor sides of bankruptcy at two of the largest firms on the West Coast, so he knows how a trustee evaluates what you have claimed as exempt. He files Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and Chapter 12, which means the exemption strategy he builds is matched to the chapter that actually fits your situation.
Exemptions in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13
Exemptions do the same job in both chapters, protecting your property, but they play out differently depending on which one you file.
In a Chapter 7, the trustee can only reach property that is not exempt. For the large majority of filers, everything is covered, the trustee finds nothing to sell, and the case closes with the filer keeping it all. If you do hold equity beyond what an exemption protects, the trustee can sell that asset, pay off any loan against it, hand you the exempt portion, and distribute the rest to creditors. Knowing this in advance is exactly why we run the exemption analysis before filing, never after.
In a Chapter 13, you keep everything, even non-exempt property. The trade is that your repayment plan has to pay unsecured creditors at least what they would have received if that property had been sold in a Chapter 7. So exemptions still shape the math; they set the floor your plan has to clear. For someone with assets they cannot fully exempt, Chapter 13 is often the way to keep them.
Whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 fits also turns on your income and the bankruptcy means test, which we run alongside the exemption review.
What You Keep Under Oregon Law
Oregon’s exemptions protect property in clear categories. The dollar limits within each are set by statute and adjusted from time to time, so we confirm the current figures for the year you file, but the categories themselves stay consistent.
Your Home
The homestead exemption protects the equity in your primary residence up to a limit set by Oregon law, with a higher cap when the owner is elderly or disabled. It covers houses, manufactured homes, condominiums, and floating homes used as your residence. For most Oregon homeowners, the equity they have built falls within what the exemption protects, so the home is safe.
Your Vehicle
Oregon protects the equity in a motor vehicle up to a set amount. Most cars carry little equity to begin with, because they are financed or have depreciated, so we apply the vehicle exemption, and where a little equity pokes above the limit, the wildcard usually closes the gap and the car comes through untouched.
Your Retirement
This is the strong one. Tax-qualified retirement accounts, including 401(k)s, IRAs, and pensions, are generally protected in full, often regardless of the balance, and Oregon filers get that protection whether they choose the state or the federal set. People are frequently relieved to learn that a career’s worth of savings does not get pulled into the case.
Household Goods and Tools of the Trade
Everyday property, furniture, appliances, clothing, and the like, is protected up to category limits, and it is valued at what it would actually sell for used, not what you paid. Oregon also protects the tools and equipment you need to earn a living, which matters for tradespeople and for the equipment a family farm or fishing operation depends on.
The Wildcard
Oregon includes a wildcard exemption, a flexible amount you can apply to any property that is not already fully covered. It is the tool we use to protect that last bit of equity, cash, or a possession that matters to you and would otherwise be exposed.
Why Work With Our Firm
Exemptions are where a do-it-yourself filing most often goes wrong. Claim the wrong set, undervalue or overvalue an asset, or miss the residency rule, and you can hand the trustee something you could have kept. Our firm has filed bankruptcy in Oregon since 1997, and protecting property is the part of the job we care about most.
We compare the Oregon and federal sets against everything you own and claim the combination that keeps the most in your hands. Before you ever file, you will know exactly what is protected and what, if anything, is at risk, with no surprises after the fact. From our Beaverton office, we do this for clients across Oregon, and we make sure your exemption strategy fits the chapter you file.
Exemptions and Bankruptcy Costs
Cost matters, and we will be straight with you about it. There is no separate charge for exemption planning; it is part of preparing your case. What your bankruptcy costs overall depends on the chapter you file and the complexity of your situation.
We keep our fees reasonable and offer payment plans so you are not paying everything at once. Your first consultation is free and confidential, and we go over what the exemptions protect in your case, the likely chapter, and fees at that free consultation.
We will not put a flat number on your case before we understand your property and your debts. Once we have reviewed your situation, you will know what to expect before you commit.
Schedule Your Consultation
If you are worried about what you might lose in bankruptcy, the exemptions are exactly what we can walk you through. Call Hutchinson Legal Services at (503) 808-9032 or request an appointment online to set up a free, confidential consultation. We’re at 12655 SW Center St., Suite 505 in Beaverton, Oregon 97005. You can also reach us through our Contact page with any questions before you come in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I lose my house if I file bankruptcy in Oregon?
Most Oregon homeowners keep their homes. The homestead exemption protects the equity in your primary residence up to the limit Oregon sets, and that cap is higher when the owner is elderly or disabled. If your equity happens to exceed the exemption, you are still not forced to sell, because filing Chapter 13 lets you keep the home and account for the extra equity through your repayment plan instead.
Can I keep my car if I file bankruptcy in Oregon?
Usually, yes. Oregon’s vehicle exemption protects the equity in one car up to a set amount, and because most people either finance their car or have driven its value down, the equity that actually needs protecting is small. If there is a little equity above the vehicle limit, the wildcard exemption often covers the gap, so the car comes through fine.
Are my retirement accounts safe in bankruptcy?
Yes, almost always, and in full. Tax-qualified retirement accounts, 401(k)s, IRAs, and pensions, are generally protected regardless of the balance. Retirement is also the one category that doesn’t hinge on the Oregon-versus-federal choice, it is well protected either way, so it is rarely the deciding factor when we pick which exemption set to use.
What happens if I have more equity than the exemptions cover?
You have options, and surrendering the property usually isn’t the first one. In Chapter 7, a trustee could sell a non-exempt asset, but in practice most filers have nothing the trustee wants. If you do have non-exempt equity, Chapter 13 lets you keep the property and pay creditors that value over time through your plan. We figure out which path protects the asset before you file, so there are no surprises.
Do I have to live in Oregon to use Oregon’s exemptions?
Generally you need to have been an Oregon resident for about two years before filing. If you moved to Oregon more recently, the law may send you to the exemptions of the state you lived in before, which can change what is protected. We check your residency history early, because it determines which exemption set is even on the table.
Are Oregon’s exemption amounts going to change?
The categories are stable, but the dollar limits within them are set by Oregon statute and adjusted from time to time. We always apply the figures in effect on the date you file, so your exemptions reflect current law rather than an outdated chart. If you see a specific number online, treat it as a ballpark and let us confirm what applies to your case.
Do exemptions work the same way in Washington?
No, and the differences are significant. Washington has its own exemption system, with a homestead protection that is much higher and tied to local home values, so a filing across the river can look very different from an Oregon one. If you live in or recently moved from Washington, see our guide to Washington bankruptcy exemptions.
Does the means test decide what property I keep?
No. The means test only determines which chapter you can file based on income; it has nothing to do with which property you keep. Your property is protected by exemptions, a completely separate set of rules. Plenty of people pass the means test and still want the reassurance that their assets are safe, and that is exactly what exemptions provide. |
