Under Colorado law, people who file bankruptcy are allowed to keep certain property. This property is “exempt” from being used by the trustee to pay the person’s debts.
Colorado Revised Statute 13-54-102(1)(i) exempts “stock in trade, supplies, fixtures, maps, machines, tools, electronics, equipment, books, and business materials of any debtor used and kept for the purpose of carrying on any gainful occupation in the aggregate value of $20,000.00.”
It is important to remember that if a debtor is trying to exempt the value of his vehicle, he cannot exempt it under both the vehicle exemption and the tools of the trade exemption. He has to pick one exemption or the other.