Briitish Columbia, BC Bankruptcy Exemptions

Equity is the excess that the value of an asset has over any charges or encumbrances against that asset.

For example, if you have a car worth $10,000 and there is a $6,000 secured debt against it then the equity in the car is $4,000. In BC the exemption for a car is $5,000 so in this example you are entitled to the equity of $4,000 and the unsecured creditors cannot take this. .

BC Bankruptcy Exemptions are:

• Equity in a home in Greater Vancouver and Victoria = $ 12,000.  In the rest of the province   = $ 9,000;
  
• Equity in Household items   = $ 4,000;
  
• Equity in a Vehicle    = $ 5,000;  The vehicle exemption drops to $2,000 if the debtor is behind on child care payments (to facilitate the enforcement of Maintenance Orders)
  
• Equity in work tools    = $ 10,000;
• Effective July 7, 2008 exemptions are in effect for all registered retirement savings plans (RRSP's, RRIF's and DPSP's (Deferred Profit Sharing Plans).
  • Contributions made in the 12 months prior to the date of bankruptcy will be recovered (clawed back) for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate for RRSPs in provinces without RRSP exemption laws (BC, Alberta, Ontario, NB, and NS);
  • There will be no upper cap on the amount of RRSPs that can be protected;
    
  • There will be no need to set up the RRSPs in a locked in plan to make them eligible for exemption;
  • The court will have no jurisdiction to extend the one year claw back period period in an appropriate case.

  
  

Equity in essential clothing and medical aids is unlimited