This model legislation provides sample language for state laws to prevent debt collectors from seizing a family’s essential income and property to pay old debts. These laws are generally referred to as exemption laws, as they exempt certain income and assets from seizure after a creditor obtains a court judgment to collect a debt.
This model law was formerly Title II of NCLC’s Model Family Financial Protection Act (MFFPA), but was separated out as a free-standing law in 2026 to make it more easily usable. Title I of the MFFPA, which focuses on protections for consumers sued in debt collection lawsuits, was renamed the Model Debt Collection Reform Act at that time.
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