People who have been harassed by creditors know what a daunting and scary experience it can be. Creditors can threaten to take away items like your car, house or even wages, but they can also be fended away from a number of assets through asset protections, as well.
Some of these protections will cover sources of income such as homestead exemptions, annuities and life insurance. According to the Asset Protection society, creditor protection can also apply to things like ERISA qualified benefits, disability proceeds and IRAs. Likewise, any proceeds from life insurance policies are also exempt under most protection. Annuity contracts are also allowed up to $2,500 in monthly exemptions. These exemptions are covered in full under certain protection laws, though those protection laws differ from state to state.
Homestead exemptions, on the other hand, have a $40,000 limit which applies to land, mobile homes, home improvement, and all other types of home-related monetary expenses. In addition to the other life insurance exemptions, avails and proceeds are exempt if the beneficiary does not have insurance of some sort. As stated by the Oregon State Legislature, life insurance exemptions in Oregon follow their own standards and exceptions, but they are better for the beneficiary in the end because these standards give a good, straightforward guideline to follow.
Defending your assets from creditors may take a lot of time and effort. Because of this, knowing which assets can be protected is a good starting point for anyone who is trying to reclaim their peace of mind.
