1. A debtor’s holdings and possessions that, by law, a creditor cannot attach to satisfy a debt. • All the property that creditors may lawfully reach is known as nonexempt property. Many states provide a homestead exemption that excludes a person’s house and household items, up to a certain amount, from the liens of most creditors. The purpose of the exemption is to prevent debtors from becoming destitute. See HOMESTEAD. Cf. NONEXEMPT PROPERTY. [Cases: Exemptions 1; Homestead 1.]
2. Personal property that a surviving spouse is automatically entitled to receive from the decedent’s estate. [Cases: Executors and Administrators 53. C.J.S. Executors and Administrators § 124.]
