Key legal question
Whether a bankrupt debtor may lose the protection of exempt items only under the circumstances existing at inventory time, so that the bankruptcy office cannot later revoke a final allocation because circumstances changed.
Extracted holding
Yes. The relevant circumstances are those at the time of the inventory, and the bankruptcy administration may not unilaterally alter a final and legally effective allocation of exempt items because of later changes.
Extracted reasoning
The rules on exempt property are dispositive; waiver is possible, but once a legally effective allocation has been made and become final, the bankruptcy administration cannot reopen it on the basis of subsequent changes in the debtor's circumstances.