Exemptions in New York

New York exempts the following property from collection:

1. food for 60 days, stoves with fuel for 60 days, one refrigerator, crockery, tableware and cooking utensils necessary for the judgment debtor and his/her family;
2. family bibles, pictures, school books and other books not exceeding $50.00 in value;
3. seats in houses of worship;
4. domestic animals and animal food for 60 days having a value no greater than $400.00;
5. all wearing apparel and household furniture;
6. one radio receiver and one television;
7. a wedding ring and a watch not exceeding $35.00 in value;
8. necessary tools, implements, farm machinery, professional instruments, furniture and library related to judgment debtor's profession or calling, not exceeding $600.00 in value;
9. property of another held in trust for the judgment debtor, including the judgment debtor's interest in a retirement plan;
10. 90% of income or other payments by such a trust other than retirement plan, 90% of current earnings for the judgment debtor's personal services, payments made for support of a spouse or child, medical or dental accessories to the human body, life sustaining equipment, and a guide, service or hearing dog, together with its food, unless such items are determined to be unnecessary for the reasonable requirements of the judgment debtor or his/her dependents;
11. military pay and benefits;
12. 90% of money due for payment for the sale of milk produced on the judgment debtor's farm and delivered for his/her account to a licensed milk dealer;
13. security deposits for the rental of residential real estate or for utility services;
14. the loan or surrender value of the judgment debtor's life insurance policy;
15. certain funds maintained in a college choice tuition savings program trust fund;
16. up to $10,000.00 of equity in residential real property, the shares of a cooperative apartment corporation, a condominium unit, or a mobile home; and
17. a family or private cemetery not greater than one-fourth of an acre in size.

Creditor Law Information

Consistent with its reputation as the leading commercial venue of the World, New York liberally protects the rights of creditors. Among other things, the doctrine of caveat emptor still prevails, subject to certain exceptions. New York provides a broad assortment of procedural tools, such as restraining orders, temporary injunctions, writs of attachment and bonding requirements, for preventing the pretrial frustration of a subsequent judgment. New York also provides a number of different mechanisms for the restraint and recovery of assets of judgment debtors possessed by third-parties, and for otherwise voiding fraudulent transfers of assets.

Under New York's Business Corporation Law, judgment creditors may pierce the corporate veil, and pursue the personal assets of a corporation's directors and officers in cases of loss or waste of corporate assets due to neglect of, failure to perform, or other violations of, the duties of such directors and officers.

Property Execution Laws

Subject to certain limitations with regard to the support of dependents, New York permits the garnishment of 10% of a judgment debtor's income, provided that the judgment debtor's weekly earnings exceed thirty times the national hourly minimum wage, and that the amount to be withheld does not exceed 25% of the judgment debtor's weekly disposable income. Judgments may also be executed by the levy, seizure and sale of nonexempt real and personal property.

Downloads

The following are links to resources you may find useful. They are Word documents in a *zip format for fast download:

• Exemptions in New York
• GLB Policy/Draft Privacy Notice
• Creditor Law Information
• Property Execution Laws
• Traditional Non-Financial Firms Obligation Under the GLB Privacy Policy
• Analysis - H.R. 333, The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2001,  As Passed by the United States House of Representatives and S. 420, The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001,  As Passed by the United States Senate (Now also known as H.R. 333) Prepared by The Commercial Law League of America   -   March 27, 2001