The following is a quick guide. It is not meant to be legal advice—some important details are left out to make it brief and understandable.

1. Homestead
2. Personal property of various categories up to an aggregate fair market value of $60,000 for a family or $30,000 for a single adult who is not a constituent of a family
3. Current wages for personal service
4. Professionally prescribed health aids
5. Worker's compensation payments
6. Cemetery lots held for use
7. Assets of a spendthrift trust held by a trustee for the benefit of the debtor
8. Insurance benefits

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) consists of a variety of forms of early intervention to hopefully prevent or abate a formal litigation process. Most of these approaches include the use of a neutral third party to assist disputing parties in resolving their disagreements. The most common forms of alternative dispute resolution are mediation and arbitration.

Formal litigation can be very costly and time-consuming and almost always leaves opposing parties hostile towards each other. With traditional litigation, a judge imposes a "solution" which may leave one or both parties unsatisfied. If the disputing parties' relationship is not halted altogether, their conflict may continue or increase after litigation. The purpose of alternative dispute resolution is to work through a negotiation process, whereby both parties are satisfied with the outcome. Not only does this save potentially large amounts of money and time, it may also allow the parties to continue a positive working relationship.

Mediation is a structured settlement negotiation process which attempts to resolve issues outside of the courtroom with a mediator. Mediation, unlike arbitration, is not binding on the parties. A mediator does not make a decision for or against any party, but simply attempts to get the parties to agree. If the parties reach an agreement during the mediation session, a settlement agreement can be drawn up, which the parties can sign, effectively concluding the litigation. Although mediation is non-binding, the Courts almost always send cases to mediation since it tends to settle about 90% of all cases.

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Arbitration is a simplified legal proceeding which is administered and managed by an independent third party. Sometimes contracts have provisions that require arbitration in the event of a conflict. With arbitration, each party presents their arguments and evidence to the arbitrator, who decides outcome of the case. Unlike mediation, the outcome is legally enforceable and binding upon the parties involved. The process is regulated by the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925 as well as state laws.

Arbitration employs a much shorter process than formal litigation. Usually each party completes an arbitration claim form and files it, along with a filing fee, with the arbitration administrator. Sometimes a "document hearing" is held, at which the arbitrator reviews all relevant documents and issues an award. Or the parties may elect to have a "participatory hearing," where each party submits evidence and appears before the arbitrator before a decision is made.

Advantages of arbitration over traditional litigation include:

• Less expensive
• Simpler rules
• Less hostility
• Does not disrupt dealings among the parties
• More flexibility in scheduling