homestead

Debtors Cannot Claim Homestead Exemption In Carve-out Funds Recovered By Trustee.

07/16/15

underwaterhouse In a July 2015 case the Chapter 7 Trustee sold a house that was underwater with three liens, and received a carve-out from the lender that held the second and third liens.  The Debtors did not object to the sale, but to the Trustee’s Final Report because it did not allow for payment of their homestead exemptions from

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Florida Homestead Exemption

06/02/15

Article X, Section 4 (a) of the Florida Constitution provides for the Florida "homestead" exemption. This homestead exemption is in most cases available to those who file for bankruptcy relief in Florida.

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Court Rejects Trustee's Unique Homestead Attack

12/19/14
Some of the recent decisions on Texas homesteads coming out of the courts have people wondering just what John Wayne fought and died for at the Alamo.   The sanctity of the homestead along with the prohibition against garnishment of wages are two of the pillars upon which this State was founded.  While the news for Texas debtors has generally been depressing, Texas Bankruptcy Judge Tony Davis rejected a creative argument from an aggressive trustee in the case of In re Parsons, No. 12-12649 (Bankr. W.D. Tex.
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Fifth Circuit's Bankruptcy Opinions from October 2014

11/07/14
It's been a slow month in the Fifth Circuit, my home Circuit with just two bankruptcy-related opinions.   This month's cases involve a non-filing spouse who lost her homestead interest and a bank which provided "reasonably equivalent" value but not enough to constitute a complete defense to a fraudulent transfer claim.
Homestead Exemption; Takings Claim by Non-Filing Spouse
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Kim Case KOs Homestead Interest of Non-Filing Spouse

09/07/14
This has not been a good year for Texas homesteads involved in bankruptcy proceedings.    In April, the Fifth Circuit ruled (after nearly two years under advisement) that the non-filing spouse does not have a separate homestead estate entitled to protection when the other spouse files bankruptcy, or, as happened in this case, has an involuntary petition brought against him.    Kim v. Dome Entertainment, Inc. (In re Kim), No. 10-10882 (5th Cir.
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Texas Homesteads Sold Post-Petition Take Another Hit

08/23/14
Texas bankruptcy judge Jeff Bohm has ruled that a chapter 7 debtor who sold his homestead over a year after filing bankruptcy could not keep the portion of the proceeds when he failed to reinvest them within six months.  In re Smith, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 3344 (Bankr. S.D. Tex.
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Fifth Circuit Erodes Protection for Texas Homesteads Sold After Filing

03/08/14
Expanding upon its decision in Matter of Zibman, 268 F.3d 298 (5th Cir. 2001), the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the proceeds from sale of a Texas homestead lose their exempt character if they are not reinvested within six months--even when the sale takes place post-petition.   Viegelahn v. Frost (In re Frost), No. 12-50811 (5th Cir.
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Fifth Circuit Erodes Protection for Texas Homesteads Sold After Filing

03/08/14
Expanding upon its decision in Matter of Zibman, 268 F.3d 298 (5th Cir. 2001), the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the proceeds from sale of a Texas homestead lose their exempt character if they are not reinvested within six months--even when the sale takes place post-petition.   Viegelahn v. Frost (In re Frost), No. 12-50811 (5th Cir.
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