Up until recently Oregon car owners who wished to file bankruptcy had cause for concern. Under the Oregon exemptions, single filers could protect only $3000 in car equity and married filers could protect only $3000 each or $6000 for one vehicle.
Oregon car owners who wished to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy with more car equity than allowed under the miserly Oregon exemptions faced the prospect of having their cars sold off during the pendency of their bankruptcy case. Â With Oregon’s recent adoption of the federal exemptions, car owners can now breathe a sigh of relief.
Under the federal exemptions, an Oregon bankruptcy filer can now use the federal car exemption to protect up to $3450 in car equity and this amount can be doubled for married filers. In addition to these protections, a single Oregon bankruptcy filer can stack wildcard and home equity exemptions to protect an additional $11,225 and married filers can stack these exemptions to protect an additional $22450 in car equity.
Unless you are a single bankruptcy filer and you have more than $15,000 in car equity or you are married and have more than $30,000, you are safe. Losing cars in Chapter 7 used to be commonplace. It is now difficult to imagine anyone losing their car in bankruptcy ever again.
