An Act To Limit Claims of Exempt Property
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §4422, first ¶, as amended by PL 1985, c. 187, §3, is further amended to read:
The following property is exempt from attachment and execution, except to the extent that it has been fraudulently conveyed by the debtor or is underlying a debt specified in 11 United States Code, Section 523(a)(1), Section 523(a)(2)(A) and (B), Section 523(a)(4) to (9) and Section 523(a)(11) to (19).
Sec. 2. 14 MRSA §4422, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 579, §2, is further amended to read:
B. The debtor's aggregate interest, not to exceed $95,000 in value, in property described in paragraph A, if the debtor or a dependent of the debtor is either a person 60 years of age or older or a person physically or mentally disabled and because of such disability is unable to engage in substantial gainful employment and whose disability has lasted or can be expected to last for at least 12 months or can be expected to result in death; except that if the debtor's interest is held jointly with any other person or persons, the exemption may not exceed in value the lesser of $95,000 or the product of the fractional share of the debtor's interest times $190,000. This paragraph does not apply to liens obtained prior to its effective date or to judgments based on torts involving other than ordinary negligence on the part of the debtor.
summary
This bill specifies that claims of exempt property may not be used to protect against certain debts that would be excepted from discharge under federal bankruptcy law or judgments based on torts involving other than ordinary negligence on the part of the debtor.