THE ATTORSET GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

October 6, 1987 

Honorable Neal Birmingham Opinion No. JR-807 

Cass County District Attorney 

P. 0. Box 940 Re: Whether $30,000 is the 

Linden, Texas 75563 aggregate limit on articles 

exempt from execution under 

sections 42.001 and 42.002 

of the Property Code 

Dear Mr. Birmingham: 

You ask the following question: 

Is the property 'eligible for the exemption' 

under Sec. 42.002 Property Code property 

that the owner may retain free of execution 

regardless of value or may the owner retain 

title to only those items of property set 

out in Sec. 42.002 that do not exceed in the 

aggregate, $30,000.00 for a family or 

$lS,OOO.OO for a single adult? 

The Texas Constitution makes it the duty of the 

legislature to protect from forced sale a certain portion 

of personal property of heads of family and of unmarried 

adults. Tex. Const. art. XVI, 516. The legislature has 

carried out that duty by enacting articles 42.001 and 

42.002 of the Property Code. Section 42.001 provides: 

(a) Eligible personal property that is 

owned by a family and that has an aggregate 

fair market value of not more than $30,000 

is exempt from attachment, execution, and 

seizure for the satisfaction of debts, 

except for encumbrances properly fixed on 

the property. 

(b) Eligible personal property that is 

owned by a single adult who is not a member 

of a family and that has an aggregate fair 

market value of not more than $15,000 is 

exempt from attachment, execution, and 

p. 3818 
Honorable Neal Birmingham - Page 2 (m-807) 

seizure for the satisfaction of debts, 

except for encumbrances properly fixed on 

the property. 

(c) The exemption provided in this 

section does not apply to a debt that is 

secured by a lien on the property or that is 

due for rents or advances from a landlord to 

the landlord's tenant. 

Section 42.002 sets out items of property that are 

"eligible for the exemption." Your question is whether 

the listed items are exempt regardless of value or whether 

the listed items are exempt only as long as the aggregate 

value is not greater than the relevant limit set out in 

section 42.001. 

Section 42.001 states that "eligibleSV items up to a 

specified amount are exempt. Section 42.002 lists 

"eligible" items. Those provisions, read together, make 

clear that only the items listed in section 42.002 may be 

claimed under the exemption and that listed items may only 

.be claimed to the extent that their aggregate value does 

not exceed the relevant limit set out in section 42.001. 

The Property Code is the product of a nonsubstantive 

recodification. Acts 1983, 68th beg., ch. 576, 51.001(a). 

The prior statute governing exempt personal property 

provided: 

Personal property (not to exceed 

aggregate fair market value of $15,000 f:: 

each single, adult person, not a constituent 

of a family, or 530,000 for a family) is 

exempt from attachment, execution and every 

type of seizure for the satisfaction of 

liabilities, except for encumbrances 

properly fixed thereon, if included among 

,the following: [list omitted]. 

Acts 1973, 63rd beg., ch. 588, 52, at 1628 (codified at 

V.T.C.S. art. 3836). The parenthetical in that provision 

leaves no room for doubt that the list of exempt personal 

property was intended to create an exemption only for 

personal property that does not exceed a fair market value 

of $30,000 for a family or $15,000 for a single person. 

a Acts 1935, 44th Leg., ch. 145, 51, at 384 (repealed by 

Acts 1973, 63rd beg., ch. 588, 54, at 1629) (former law 

p. 3819 
Honorable Neal Birmingham - Page 3 (JR-807) 

set out specific items of exempt personal property with no 

limit on value). 

SUMMARY 

The items listed in article 42.001 of the 

Property Code are the only items that may be 

claimed as exempt under article 42.002 of 

the Property Code, and the listed items may 

be claimed only to the extent that their 

aggregate fair market value does not exceed 

$30,000 for a family or $15,000 for a single 

adult. 

-Jkg~* 

Attorney General of Texas 

WARYKELLER 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY 

Special Assistant Attorney General 

RICK GILPIN 

Chairman, Opinion Committee 

Prepared by Sarah Woelk 

Assistant Attorney General 

p. 3820