What Assets Can New Brunswick Residents Keep In Bankruptcy?

Updated:  March 22, 2022

There are certain assets that you generally get to keep when you file personal bankruptcy. This list of assets varies from province to province; the following is a list of assets that are exempt from seizure in the Province of New Brunswick:

• Furniture and household goods up to a maximum value of $5,000;

• Food, clothing, and fuel for the debtor and family;

• Registered Retirement Savings Plans (“RRSPs”) except for contributions in the past 12 months;

• Pension Plans (can be exempt, if it meets specific criteria);

• Whole Life Insurance (can be exempt, if it meets specific criteria);

• One motor vehicle per debtor up to a maximum value of $6,500, subject to the claims of a secured creditor, if the vehicle is required by the debtor to earn a living and no alternate means of transportation are available;

• Health and medical aids;

• Two horses and harnesses, two cows, ten sheep, two hogs, 20 fowl, and food for six months;

• Tools of the trade, equipment, and books up to a value of $6,500;

• Household pets;

• Seed grain and potatoes required for planting in the following quantities: 40 bushels of oats, 10 bushels of barley, 10 bushels of buckwheat, 10 bushels of wheat and 35 barrels of potatoes.

If all or a portion of the asset is not exempt, you will generally have the option of keeping the asset by repurchasing it from the bankruptcy estate.

For example – if you have a vehicle worth $9,500 that does not have a loan against it, you could keep this vehicle; however, you would need to pay the bankruptcy estate $3,000. Since the vehicle is worth $9,500 and the exemption is only $6,500, there is $3,000 in value that is not exempt that the Trustee must collect.

When you file personal bankruptcy, all of your assets are transferred to the Trustee to be liquidated for the benefit of your unsecured creditors, except those assets which are exempt from seizure by provincial or federal legislation, examples of which are listed above.

Your Trustee must recover any assets that have equity above and beyond what is owed against them.

You will note that there is no exemption for any real estate (House / Land). If you own real estate worth more than the mortgages registered against it, the Trustee must collect this excess value.

There is also no exemption for Registered Education Savings Plans (“RESP”).

If you are keeping an asset that has a loan against it, you need to continue making the loan payments to keep the asset.

Every province has their own list of exemptions. You can find Nova Scotia’s bankruptcy exemptions here.

Powell Associates Ltd. is a Licensed Insolvency Trustee. We are experienced, hands-on insolvency practitioners who understand the personal impacts of major financial stress;

• You won’t be stuck in an assembly line process.

• You will expect and receive prompt responses and resolution of issues from our supportive and experienced team.

• We will review your debt solution options, including filing a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy.

• We help Canadians with overwhelming debt get fresh financial starts.

Once you file a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy, we deal directly with your creditors on your behalf. Your unsecured creditors are required to stop contacting you or continuing legal proceedings against you. Contact us for a free consultation.

We offer free consultations to review your financial situation and practical debt resolution options. Contact us to discuss your situation over the phone, a video chat, or in-person in Saint John, Moncton,  Fredericton, Charlottetown, Dartmouth, or Miramichi.