Opinion ID: 40374
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Louisiana's Exemption Statute

Text: 5 Louisiana has opted out of the federal exemptions available to debtors under the Bankruptcy Code. See 11 U.S.C. § 522(d) (2000) (defining federal exemptions). Debtors in Louisiana can only choose exemptions available under the Louisiana exemption statute, La.Rev.Stat. § 13:3881. It states: 6 (A) The following income or property of a debtor is exempt from seizure under any writ, mandate, or process whatsoever, except as otherwise herein provided: . . . . 7 (2) That property necessary to the exercise of a trade, calling, or profession by which he earns his livelihood, which shall be limited to the following: 8 (a) Tools. 9 (b) Instruments. 10 (c) Books. 11 (d) Seven thousand five hundred dollars in equity value for one motor vehicle per household, used by the debtor and his family household. The equity value of the motor vehicle shall be based on the NADA retail value for the particular year, make and model. The one motor vehicle may be used in exercising a trade, calling or profession or used for transportation to and from the place at which the debtor earns his livelihood. 12 La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 13:3881(A)(2) (West Supp.2005). 13 [E]xemption statutes, being in derogation of the general rule of non-exemption, must be strictly construed, but not so as to destroy their purpose. In re Black, 225 B.R. 610, 614 (Bankr.M.D.La. 1998). That purpose is to provide for the subsistence, welfare, and `fresh start' of the debtor, to the end that his or her family will not be destitute and so that the debtor will not become a charge on the state. In re Black, 225 B.R. at 614. In deciding how to interpret the exemption, this Court must look at the plain meaning of the statute, focusing on the words themselves. In re Brown, 189 B.R. 653, 661 (Bankr.M.D.La.1995); see also In re Black, 225 B.R. at 614. 14