Are exemptions based per person, or by household?
My common law partner is considering claiming bankruptcy. We have had an on/off relationship for 11 years and have 5 children together. Due to a long standing addiction he had, he has no assets at all (he lost or sold them over the years to support his habit). We have recently decided to get back together and he is moving back into the home that I rent with my children. Most everything in our house is mine or the childrens`, things I either bought, or continued to make payments on even while we were not together. the bills of sale list me as the owner. The items I speak of are mostly furniture. Will I lose these things due to his banruptcy? Because he lives here are my possesions considered his now? Is the $4000 exemption based on total household items, or only his personal property? I am concerned because with having 5 children, and all of them having their own bedroom furniture, we would definitely be over $4000 if the exemption includes ALL furniture. What about the childrens` possesions such as toys, dvds and video games? I am so afraid that the kids and I are going to lose our things now because he is back with us, and these items are considered household items and therefore he is benefiting from them as well. Oh, also thought I should mention that my only sources of income over the years have been my child tax benefit and child support paid to me by him for our children. Not sure if that is relevant or not…
Posted from: Alberta
The Civil Enforcement Act stipulates that each debtor is permitted up to $4,000 household furnishings. Now this $4,000 is not a replacement value, but an auction / liquidation / garage sale value. Typically we find that most people don’t have more than the $4,000 level unless they have something unusual and this is simply because furnishings don’t really don’t retain much in the way of re-sale value.