§ 15-501 — Exempt property of householder; property in transitu; debt for wages.

District of Columbia § 15-501

• Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
• Title 15: Judgments and Executions; Fees and Costs. [Enacted title]
• Ch. 5: Exemptions and Trial of Right to Seized Property.
• Subch. I: Exemptions.

Text

(a) The following property of the head of a family or householder residing in the District of Columbia, or of a person who earns the major portion of his livelihood in the District of Columbia, being the head of a family or householder, regardless of his place of residence, is free and exempt from distraint, attachment, levy, or seizure and sale on execution or decree of any court in the District of Columbia:

(1) the debtor’s interest, not to exceed $2,575 in value, in one motor vehicle;

(2) the debtor’s interest, not to exceed $425 in value, in any particular item or $8,625 in aggregate value in household furnishings, household goods, wearing apparel, appliances, books, animals, crops, or musical instruments, that are held primarily for the personal family or household use of the debtor or a dependent of the debtor;

(3) the debtor’s aggregate interest in any property, not to exceed $850 in value, plus up to $8,075 of any unused amount of the exemption provided under paragraph (14) of this subsection;

(4) the debtor’s aggregate interest, not to exceed $1,625 in value, in any implements, professional books, or tools of the trade of the debtor or the trade of a dependent of the debtor (this exemption shall also apply to merchants);

(5) any unmatured life insurance contract owned by the debtor, other than a credit life insurance contract;

(6) professionally prescribed health aids for the debtor or a dependent of the debtor;

(7) the debtor’s right to receive:

(A) a social security benefit;

(B) a veteran’s benefit;

(C) a disability, illness, or unemployment benefit;

(D) alimony, support, or separate maintenance, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor; and

(E) a payment under a stock bonus, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, or similar plan or contract on account of illness, disability, death, age, or length of service, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor, unless:

(i) the plan or contract was established by or under the auspices of an insider that employed the debtor at the time the debtor’s rights under the plan or contract arose;

(ii) the payment is on account of age or length of service; and

(iii) the plan or contract does not qualify under section 401(a) or 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, approved October 22, 1986 (100 Stat. 2085; 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) (“1986 Code”);

(8) all family pictures; and all the family library, not exceeding $400 in value;

(9) notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, money or other assets payable to a participant or beneficiary from, or an interest of a participant or beneficiary in, a retirement plan qualified under sections 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, 408A, 414(d), or 414(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, approved October 22, 1986 (100 Stat. 2085; 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) (“1986 Code”), or section 409 (as in effect prior to January 1984) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, approved August 6, 1954 (68A Stat. 3; 26 U.S. C. § 1 et seq.); provided, that:

(A) this paragraph shall not apply to:

(i) an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, as defined in section 414(p) of the 1986 Code;

(ii) a retirement plan, qualified under section 401(a) of the 1986 Code, as a creditor of an individual retirement account qualified under section 408 of the 1986 Code; or

(iii) any claims by, or any indebtedness, liability, or obligation owed to, the District of Columbia;

(B) if a contribution to a retirement plan described in this paragraph exceeds the amount deductible or, in the case of a contribution under section 408A of the 1986 Code, the maximum contribution allowed under the applicable provisions of the 1986 Code, the portion of the contribution that exceeds the amount deductible or, in the case of a contribution under section 408A of the 1986 Code, the maximum contribution allowed, and any accrued earnings on such portion, are not exempt;

(10) the interest of an alternate payee in a plan described in paragraph (9) of this subsection;

(11) the debtor’s right to receive property that is traceable to:

(A) an award under a crime victim’s reparation law;

(B) a payment on account of the wrongful death of an individual of whom the debtor was a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor;

(C) a payment under a life insurance contract that insured the life of an individual of whom the debtor was a dependent on the date of the individual’s death, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor;

(D) a payment, including pain and suffering or compensation for actual pecuniary loss, of the debtor or an individual of whom the debtor is a dependent; or

(E) a payment in compensation of loss of future earnings of the debtor or an individual of whom the debtor is or was a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor;

(12) provisions for 3 months support, whether provided or growing;

(13) the library, office furniture, and implements of a professional person or artist, not exceeding $300 in value;

(14) the debtor’s aggregate interest in real property used as the residence of the debtor, or property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor in a cooperative that owns property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor uses as a residence, or in a burial plot for the debtor or dependent of the debtor, except nothing relative to these exemptions shall impair the following debt instruments on real property: deed of trust, mortgage, mechanic’s lien, or tax lien; and

(15) if the debtor is a notary public, the debtor's official seal, as defined in [§ 1-1231.01(11)] , and official documents.

(b) The exemptions provided for by subsection (a) of this section are valid when the property is in transit, the same as if at rest; but property named and exempted in this section is not exempt from attachment or execution for a debt due for the wages of servants, common laborers, or clerks, except the wearing apparel, beds, and bedding and household furniture for the debtor and family.

(c) For the purpose of this section, the person who is the principal provider for the family is the head thereof.

Legislative History

Dec. 23, 1963, 77 Stat. 529, Pub. L. 88-241, § 1; June 24, 2000, D.C. Law 13-129, § 4, 47 DCR 2684; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-292, § 702, 48 DCR 2087; Mar. 14, 2007, D.C. Law 16-270, § 3(a), 54 DCR 851