Michigan Bankruptcy Exemptions
Table of Contents
Insurance Lawyer
Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...
Jeffrey Johnson
Insurance Lawyer
Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...
Jeffrey Johnson
Updated January 2025
Federal bankruptcy exemptions available? YES
Michigan’s homestead exemption is up to $38,225 for a single person or a married couple (up to $57,350 for a disabled single person or married couple if over 65). The property in question cannot be larger than one lot or parcel in a town, village, or city, or 40 acres anywhere else. If the owner of the property is deceased, the spouse and children may claim this exemption.
The references to Michigan statutes are to the Michigan Compiled Laws. In Michigan the dollar amounts of exemptions are adjusted for inflation at 3-year intervals, and were last adjusted in early 2017 (the next adjustment would be in 2020). This means that the amounts given in the statutes cited will not be correct. To find the most up-to-date exemption amounts, go to the Michigan website below.
Resources
United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Michigan
United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Michigan
35.926
| Michigan Bankruptcy Exemptions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Exemption | State Statute |
| Homestead | Property owned by married couple as tenancy in the entirely may be exempt if only one spouse is the debtor. | 600.5451(1)(o) |
| Insurance | Life insurance policy or trust fund sponsored by an employer: all. | 500.2210 |
| Life insurance: all. | 500.2207 | |
| Life, endowment, or annuity proceeds: all if there is a clause that forbids the use of proceeds to pay the beneficiary’s creditors. | 500.4054 | |
| Fraternal benefit society benefits: all. | 500.8181 | |
| Health, disability, or mutual life benefits: all. | 600.5451(1)(j) | |
| Miscellaneous | Property belonging to business partnership: all. | 449.25 |
| Pensions | Federal pension exemptions. | |
| State employee pensions: all. | 38.40; 38.1683 | |
| Firefighter and police pensions: all. | 38.559(6); 38.1683 | |
| Legislator pensions: all. | 38.1057; 38.1683 | |
| Public school employee pensions: all. | 38.1346; 38.1683 | |
| Judge pensions: all. | 38.2308; 38.1683 | |
| Probate judge pensions: all. | 38.2308; 38.1683 | |
| IRAs and Roth IRAs: all contributions made more than 120 days before filing for bankruptcy. | 600.5451(1)(l) | |
| ERISA qualified benefits: all contributions made more than 120 days before filing for bankruptcy. | 600.5451(1(m) | |
| Personal Property | Health aids prescribed by a health professional: all. | 600.5451(1)(a) |
| Burial plots or cemeteries: all. | 600.5451(1)(a) | |
| Clothing and family pictures: all. | 600.5451(1)(a) | |
| Food and fuel: enough to last the family up to 6 months. | 600.5451(1)(b) | |
| Household goods, furniture, appliances, utensils, and books: up to $600 each and $3,825 total (inflation adjusted). | 600.5451(1)(c) | |
| Pews, slips, or seats in a church for the entire family: up to $650 (inflation adjusted). | 600.5451(1)(d) | |
| Animals, feed, and crops: up to $2,550 (inflation adjusted). | 600.5451(1)(e) | |
| Household pets: up to $650 (inflation adjusted). | 600.5451(1)(f) | |
| Motor vehicle: 1 up to $3,525 (inflation adjusted). | 600.5451(1)(g) | |
| Computer and accessories: up to $650 (inflation adjusted). | 600.5451(1)(h) | |
| Public Benefits | Crime victims’ compensation benefits: all. | 18.362 |
| Veterans’ benefits for WWII veterans: all. | ||
| Veterans’ benefits for Korean War veterans: all. | 35.977 | |
| Veterans’ benefits for Vietnam veterans: all. | 35.1027 | |
| Social welfare benefits: all. | 400.63 | |
| Workers’ compensation benefits: all. | 418.821 | |
| Unemployment compensation benefits: all. | 421.30 | |
| Tools of Your Trade | Arms and accoutrements: all necessary for trade. | 600.6023(1)(a) |
| Motor vehicle, tools, implements, materials, apparatus, stock, team, horse, and harness: up to $1,000 total. | 600.6023(1)(e) | |
| Wages | Wages for head of household: at least 60% of weekly unpaid wages (not less than $15 per week) plus $2 per week for each nonspouse dependent. | 600.5311 |
| Wages for person other than head of household: at least 40% of weekly unpaid wages (not less than $10 per week). | 600.5311 | |
| Wildcard | No exemption. | |
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