An exemption is your ability to keep stuff that you own even though you’re going to get a discharge. In most states, if you file a lawsuit and you get a judgment, that judgment becomes a lien against their real estate in the county. If you file bankruptcy and you exempt any part of your property, you want to strip off those judgment liens and you are allowed to do that in bankruptcy. It’s something called lien avoidance because the judgment lien impairs an exemption.