2005 Texas Property Code CHAPTER 42. PERSONAL PROPERTY

PROPERTY CODE

CHAPTER 42. PERSONAL PROPERTY


	§ 42.001. PERSONAL PROPERTY EXEMPTION.  (a) Personal 
property, as described in Section 42.002, is exempt from 
garnishment, attachment, execution, or other seizure if:
		(1)  the property is provided for a family and has an 
aggregate fair market value of not more than $60,000, exclusive of 
the amount of any liens, security interests, or other charges 
encumbering the property;  or
		(2)  the property is owned by a single adult, who is not 
a member of a family, and has an aggregate fair market value of not 
more than $30,000, exclusive of the amount of any liens, security 
interests, or other charges encumbering the property.
	(b)  The following personal property is exempt from seizure 
and is not included in the aggregate limitations prescribed by 
Subsection (a):
		(1)  current wages for personal services, except for 
the enforcement of court-ordered child support payments;
		(2)  professionally prescribed health aids of a debtor 
or a dependent of a debtor;  and
		(3)  alimony, support, or separate maintenance 
received or to be received by the debtor for the support of the 
debtor or a dependent of the debtor.
	(c)  This section does not prevent seizure by a secured 
creditor with a contractual landlord's lien or other security in 
the property to be seized.
	(d)  Unpaid commissions for personal services not to exceed 
25 percent of the aggregate limitations prescribed by Subsection 
(a) are exempt from seizure and are included in the aggregate.

Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3522, ch. 576, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.  
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 175, § 1, eff. May 24, 1991;  
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1046, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.


	§ 42.002. PERSONAL PROPERTY.  (a) The following personal 
property is exempt under Section 42.001(a):
		(1)  home furnishings, including family heirlooms;                            
		(2)  provisions for consumption;                                              
		(3)  farming or ranching vehicles and implements;                             
		(4)  tools, equipment, books, and apparatus, including 
boats and motor vehicles used in a trade or profession;
		(5)  wearing apparel;                                                         
		(6)  jewelry not to exceed 25 percent of the aggregate 
limitations prescribed by Section 42.001(a);
		(7)  two firearms;                                                            
		(8)  athletic and sporting equipment, including 
bicycles;                   
		(9)  a two-wheeled, three-wheeled, or four-wheeled 
motor vehicle for each member of a family or single adult who holds 
a driver's license or who does not hold a driver's license but who 
relies on another person to operate the vehicle for the benefit of 
the nonlicensed person;
		(10)  the following animals and forage on hand for 
their consumption:       
			(A)  two horses, mules, or donkeys and a saddle, 
blanket, and bridle for each;
			(B)  12 head of cattle;                                                      
			(C)  60 head of other types of livestock;  and                               
			(D)  120 fowl;  and                                                          
		(11)  household pets.                                                         
	(b)  Personal property, unless precluded from being 
encumbered by other law, may be encumbered by a security interest 
under Subchapter B, Chapter 9, Business & Commerce Code, or 
Subchapter F, Chapter 501, Transportation Code, or by a lien fixed 
by other law, and the security interest or lien may not be avoided 
on the ground that the property is exempt under this chapter.

Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3522, ch. 576, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.  
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 175, § 1, eff. May 24, 1991;  
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 216, § 1, eff. May, 17, 1993;  Acts 
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 30.245, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 
1999, 76th Leg., ch. 414, § 2.36, eff. July 1, 2001;  Acts 1999, 
76th Leg., ch. 846, § 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1999.


	§ 42.0021. ADDITIONAL EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN SAVINGS 
PLANS.  (a) In addition to the exemption prescribed by Section 
42.001, a person's right to the assets held in or to receive 
payments, whether vested or not, under any stock bonus, pension, 
profit-sharing, or similar plan, including a retirement plan for 
self-employed individuals, and under any annuity or similar 
contract purchased with assets distributed from that type of plan, 
and under any retirement annuity or account described by Section 
403(b) or 408A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and under any 
individual retirement account or any individual retirement 
annuity, including a simplified employee pension plan, and under 
any health savings account described by Section 223 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, is exempt from attachment, execution, and 
seizure for the satisfaction of debts unless the plan, contract, or 
account does not qualify under the applicable provisions of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.  A person's right to the assets held 
in or to receive payments, whether vested or not, under a government 
or church plan or contract is also exempt unless the plan or 
contract does not qualify under the definition of a government or 
church plan under the applicable provisions of the federal Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.  If this subsection is held 
invalid or preempted by federal law in whole or in part or in 
certain circumstances, the subsection remains in effect in all 
other respects to the maximum extent permitted by law.
	(b)  Contributions to an individual retirement account, 
other than contributions to a Roth IRA described in Section 408A, 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or an annuity that exceed the amounts 
deductible under the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and any accrued earnings on such contributions are not 
exempt under this section unless otherwise exempt by law.  Amounts 
qualifying as nontaxable rollover contributions under Section 
402(a)(5), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), or 408(d)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 before January 1, 1993, are treated as exempt 
amounts under Subsection (a).  Amounts treated as qualified 
rollover contributions under Section 408A, Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, are treated as exempt amounts under Subsection (a).  In 
addition, amounts qualifying as nontaxable rollover contributions 
under Section 402(c), 402(e)(6), 402(f), 403(a)(4), 403(a)(5), 
403(b)(8), 403(b)(10), 408(d)(3), or 408A of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 on or after January 1, 1993, are treated as exempt 
amounts under Subsection (a).  Amounts qualifying as nontaxable 
rollover contributions under Section 223(f)(5) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 on or after January 1, 2004, are treated as 
exempt amounts under Subsection (a).
	(c)  Amounts distributed from a plan or contract entitled to 
the exemption under Subsection (a) are not subject to seizure for a 
creditor's claim for 60 days after the date of distribution if the 
amounts qualify as a nontaxable rollover contribution under 
Subsection (b).
	(d)  A participant or beneficiary of a stock bonus, pension, 
profit-sharing, retirement plan, or government plan is not 
prohibited from granting a valid and enforceable security interest 
in the participant's or beneficiary's right to the assets held in or 
to receive payments under the plan to secure a loan to the 
participant or beneficiary from the plan, and the right to the 
assets held in or to receive payments from the plan is subject to 
attachment, execution, and seizure for the satisfaction of the 
security interest or lien granted by the participant or beneficiary 
to secure the loan.
	(e)  If Subsection (a) is declared invalid or preempted by 
federal law, in whole or in part or in certain circumstances, as 
applied to a person who has not brought a proceeding under Title 11, 
United States Code, the subsection remains in effect, to the 
maximum extent permitted by law, as to any person who has filed that 
type of proceeding.
	(f)  A reference in this section to a specific provision of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 includes a subsequent amendment 
of the substance of that provision.

Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 376, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.  
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1122, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 
1989;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 963, § 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1995;  
Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 106, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999;  Acts 
2005, 79th Leg., ch. 130, § 1, 2, eff. May 24, 2005.


	§ 42.0022. EXEMPTION FOR COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS.  (a) In 
addition to the exemption prescribed by Section 42.001, a person's 
right to the assets held in or to receive payments or benefits under 
any of the following is exempt from attachment, execution, and 
seizure for the satisfaction of debts:
		(1)  any fund or plan established under Subchapter F, 
Chapter 54, Education Code, including the person's interest in a 
prepaid tuition contract;
		(2)  any fund or plan established under Subchapter G, 
Chapter 54, Education Code, including the person's interest in a 
savings trust account;  or
		(3)  any qualified tuition program of any state that 
meets the requirements of Section 529, Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, as amended.
	(b)  If any portion of this section is held to be invalid or 
preempted by federal law in whole or in part or in certain 
circumstances, this section remains in effect in all other respects 
to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 113, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.           


	§ 42.003. DESIGNATION OF EXEMPT PROPERTY.  (a) If the 
number or amount of a type of personal property owned by a debtor 
exceeds the exemption allowed by Section 42.002 and the debtor can 
be found in the county where the property is located, the officer 
making a levy on the property shall ask the debtor to designate the 
personal property to be levied on.  If the debtor cannot be found in 
the county or the debtor fails to make a designation within a 
reasonable time after the officer's request, the officer shall make 
the designation.
	(b)  If the aggregate value of a debtor's personal property 
exceeds the amount exempt from seizure under Section 42.001(a), the 
debtor may designate the portion of the property to be levied on.  
If, after a court's request, the debtor fails to make a designation 
within a reasonable time or if for any reason a creditor contests 
that the property is exempt, the court shall make the designation.

Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3524, ch. 576, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.  
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 175, § 1, eff. May 24, 1991.


	§ 42.004. TRANSFER OF NONEXEMPT PROPERTY.  (a) If a 
person uses the property not exempt under this chapter to acquire, 
obtain an interest in, make improvement to, or pay an indebtedness 
on personal property which would be exempt under this chapter with 
the intent to defraud, delay, or hinder an interested person from 
obtaining that to which the interested person is or may be entitled, 
the property, interest, or improvement acquired is not exempt from 
seizure for the satisfaction of liabilities.  If the property, 
interest, or improvement is acquired by discharging an encumbrance 
held by a third person, a person defrauded, delayed, or hindered is 
subrogated to the rights of the third person.
	(b)  A creditor may not assert a claim under this section 
more than two years after the transaction from which the claim 
arises.  A person with a claim that is unliquidated or contingent at 
the time of the transaction may not assert a claim under this 
section more than one year after the claim is reduced to judgment.
	(c)  It is a defense to a claim under this section that the 
transfer was made in the ordinary course of business by the person 
making the transfer.

Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3524, ch. 576, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.  
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 175, § 1, eff. May 24, 1991.


	§ 42.005. CHILD SUPPORT LIENS.  Sections 42.001, 42.002, 
and 42.0021 of this code do not apply to a child support lien 
established under Subchapter G, Chapter 157, Family Code.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 15, § 4.07, eff. 
Sept. 1, 1991.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 7.56, 
eff. Sept. 1, 1997.