What exactly does exempt mean?

[atcaw94]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

I am currently confirmed in a Chapter 13. I currently receive a VA disability check and will soon start receiving a monthly stipend while attending school under the VA vocational rehab program. I also receive a military retirement check and my wife works.
In my first meeting with my attorney, I asked him if my VA disability was exempt. He said he wasn't sure about VA disability, but knew that Social Security disability was exempt. This disability check is counted as income. After exhaustive research I found the following:

Unless a bankruptcy case is dismissed, property that is exempt under 11 U.S.C.S. § 522 is not available for the payment of any debt during or after bankruptcy, except for tax liens, educational loans and grants obtained by fraud, and debts secured by liens that are not avoided or cancelled.

Under federal bankruptcy law, exempt property includes:

· Up to $20,200 in real property or personal property that the debtor or the debtor's dependent uses as a residence r burial plot,
· Up to $3,225 interest in a motor vehicle,
· Up to $525 in any one item, and up to $10,775 in total value in household goods, furnishings, and appliances,
· Total interest, not to exceed $1,350 in personal jewelry,
· Up to $1,075 interest in any property, up to $ 10,125 of any unused previously stated exemption amounts,
· Up to $2,025 in professional tools, books, or equipment. And
· Professional prescribed health aids.

The amounts that may be exempted are automatically adjusted every three years, based on the Consumer Price Index.

*Also exempt under federal bankruptcy law is income from the following sources:*

· Social security benefits,
· Unemployment compensation,
· Local public assistance benefits,
· *Veteran's benefits,*
· *Disability or illness benefits,*
· Alimony, support, or separate maintenance, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor; and
· Certain annuity or pension benefits.

So, what exactly does this mean? Should my VA disability/benefits not be counted in calculating disposable income, should they not be counted as income period, or what? I understand that my retirement check and my wife's income count, and any raises make my monthly payments go up. But should increases in VA benefits count?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?