South Carolina has historically had the lowest exemptions in the United States. Exemptions are important in bankruptcy purposes because it allows debtors to protect equity in certain property. The higher exemptions, the higher amount of equity you can have in your assets and still save them from being taken away by the bankruptcy trustee. The good news is that SC exemptions have increased within the last five years to some of the highest levels among the fifty states. One of the best exemptions SC residents can now use is the wildcard exemption. The wildcard ecemption has just recently been increased to over $5600 per filer. In addition, the wildcard exemption can be used or anything! This means you can save a paid for boat that is worth $5500 from being taken by the trustee. Two final notes, you can stack your wildcard exemption on top of other exemptions such as tools of the trade to maximize your protections. Finally, when using the wildcard exemption, you have to state on your bankruptcy schedules what other unused exemptions you are using to fill your wildcard exemption.