Author: Hale Andrew Antico

Hale Andrew Antico is a recognized bankruptcy attorney in Los Angeles County, and an award-winning three-time President of cdcbaa, the largest association of Los Angeles bankruptcy lawyers representing debtors. Prior to that, he served as President of the Southern California Bankruptcy Inn of Court. He is humbled to have been voted #1 Best Bankruptcy Attorney four times, and has a proven record helping thousands of people get a fresh start over two decades.
reset the 1215 days for the homestead

Can a Home Transfer to a Trust in 1215 days Blow the Homestead?

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Transfer but Keeping Equitable Interest, 1215 days, and Homestead

A look whether a refinance or transfer to a LLC, will, or trust restarts the 1,215 days for a homestead exemption in California

The maximum California homestead exemption now protects over $600,000 of home equity. However, there are conditions for a debtor to protect this amount in a bankruptcy. One of these is that the homeowner must have acquired the interest over 1,215 days ago. Does a refinance or transfer to a will, trust, or LLC restart this crucial timer? Let’s take a look.

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unvested stock options subject to liquidation in Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Keeping Stock Options in Bankruptcy Depends on This Key Factor

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Keeping Stock Options in Bankruptcy Depends on This Key Factor

Are Unvested Stock Options subject to a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy liquidation? Ninth Circuit case law clarifies.

Unvested stock options aren’t very common, but if someone gets compensated with contingent stocks, they can be worth a lot of money.  Keeping the unvested stock options in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, then, becomes critical.

Stock Options and Property of the Estate

Stocks and the Bankruptcy Code: Section 541

The first place to start is determining whether stocks or stock options are property of the estate.  Looking at 11 USC 541(a)(1), we see that “Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c)(2) of this section, all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case.”

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duplex apartment outhouses and homestead exemption house with knife

Duplex, ADUs, Apartments, Buildings and Calif Homestead Exemption

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Duplex, ADUs, Apartments, Buildings and California Homestead Exemption

Does the California Homestead protect a separate dwelling unit?

Is a duplex or apartment protected by the California homestead exemption? What about a separate building like an ADU on the same lot. Or a very large lot. It depends.

Accessory dwelling units (or ADUs) are becoming quite common in California. The question is whether the Calif homestead is broad enough to cover ADUs.  The California homestead exemption lets someone in a bankruptcy protect some or all of the equity in their residence. What are the limits of this though?

Starting with a common scenario: if someone rents out a room in their home, is the unpartitioned house now subject to limited protection? What if it becomes partitioned?

The issue only gets more complicated from there. Debtors can live in a duplex or apartment building they own, but how extensive (or limited) is the asset protection of the homestead exemption in California?  What about a home on a (very large) lot? Two dwellings or ADUs on a lot?  Let’s take a look.

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Fighting over home appreciation in a converted bankruptcy

9th Cir: Here’s who gets Asset Appreciation in Converted Bankruptcy

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9th Cir: Here’s who gets Asset Appreciation in Converted Bankruptcy

Ninth Circuit rules home appreciation which accrued between Chapter 13 confirmation and conversion to Chapter 7 can be administered to repay debts, creating split from 10th Circuit

It’s not uncommon for a debtor in Chapter 13 bankruptcy to need to convert to Chapter 7 if debtor has a job loss or health problems.  In a rising real estate market, homes can appreciate between confirmation and conversion. To whom does the appreciation in equity belong? This is where debtors and Chapter 7 trustees fight fiercely over the home and its new equity.

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Bankruptcy conversion can lead to losing an asset for bad faith

Converting a Bankruptcy and Bad Faith

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Converting a Bankruptcy and Bad Faith

Bankruptcy Conversion to Chapter 7 Could Risk a Postpetition Asset if Debtor Acted in Bad Faith

Summary

In Pancic v Lokan (In re Lokan), BAP No. OR-22-1249-CLB, Bk. No. 6:20-bk-62593-TMR (9th Cir. BAP 6/14/2023)(unpublished opinion), the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit (“BAP”) held that the chapter 13 debtors converted their case to Chapter 7 in good faith and therefore a post-petition inheritance was not property of the chapter 7 estate.

Facts

Stephen and Brenda Lokan filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Oregon on November 23, 2020 with unsecured claims of approximately $100,000.  Their plan was confirmed with plan payments of $150 per month giving unsecured creditors about 10% of their claims.

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Surplus Income, Bankruptcy, and Nonconsumer or Business Debt Avoids the Maze of the Means Test

Nonconsumer Debt + No Means Test = Chap 7 Discharge? A Deep Dive

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Nonconsumer Debt + No Means Test = Chap 7 Discharge? A Deep Dive

A Look at Surplus Income and Nonconsumer Debt, Skipping the Bankruptcy Means Test, and if the Case Law Leads to Chapter 7 Success

Does having primarily nonconsumer debt give someone a shortcut to Chapter 7 discharge? Generally, Chapter 7 is for people who can’t afford to repay debt. There’s a means test that makes someone eligible for Chapter 7. However, there appears to be a loophole that allows someone with primarily nonconsumer debt to skip the means test. Does that shortcut mean high-income debtors with primarily non-consumer debt are on easy street to Chapter 7 discharge?

The Issue: Why Nonconsumer Debt May Help Chapter 7 Discharge

Debt can be categorized as either consumer or nonconsumer. The big difference is if the debt is nonconsumer, you can skip the means test, and squeeze into Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

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exceptions to bankruptcy discharge 523

Bankruptcy Discharge Exceptions of 523: Explained in Simple Terms

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Bankruptcy Discharge Exceptions of 523: Explained in Simple Terms

In bankruptcy, debt is discharged unless there’s an exception that makes it nondischargeable. That’s the rule: all unsecured debt is eliminated in bankruptcy unless the exception is in Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code. What kind of things are listed there? You can guess: recent taxes, most student loans, and so on. Here’s a look at the the bankruptcy discharge exceptions of 11 USC 523.

The statute: 11 USC 523(a)

The rule is all unsecured debt goes away in bankruptcy, and 11 USC 523(a) is the list of exceptions to the rule. In some cases, there are exceptions to the exceptions. That is, the list below is not absolute; sometimes debts in 523a can be discharged in bankruptcy.

Before launching into the long list, Section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code says:

A discharge under section 727, 1141, 1192 [1] 1228(a), 1228(b), or 1328(b) of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt:

That’s the preamble. It basically says that a discharge in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Chapter 11 or Chapter 12 bankruptcy doesn’t eliminate the following debts.

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Amending exemptions or schedules in a reopened case is not allowed in some courts

Amend Exemption in Reopened Bankruptcy? The Three Approaches

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Amend Exemption in Reopened Bankruptcy? The Three Approaches

In a bankruptcy case where you already got the order of discharge and has been closed, can you go back and reopen the case to amend the exemptions to protect an asset? The answer is (say it with me): it depends.

The Scenario: Need to Reopen & and Amend Schedules

If you practice bankruptcy long enough, you know the situation. Debtor files bankruptcy, and somehow forgets that they had a cause of action and (potential) lawsuit against someone, and doesn’t disclose the potential asset.

Years later, defendant finds out about the bankruptcy, considers judicial estoppel, and for good measure, notifies the old bankruptcy trustee about the asset in the closed bankruptcy case.

Debtor then reopens the bankruptcy case, and amends the schedule of assets and exemptions and all is forgiven. No harm, no foul.

Of course, this can also happen when you want to avoid the lien of a home with no equity at the time of an old case, using Section 522(f). This would lead to the need to reopen and amend Schedule C with a de minimis amount to show that the lien is impairing an exemption.  In re Higgins, 201 BR 965 (9th Cir BAP 1996)

The Problem: Can you Amend Exemptions after a Bankruptcy is Closed?

We start with one potential issue:  Rule 1009(a) of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedures says when a case can be amended. “A voluntary petition, list, schedule, or statement may be amended by the debtor as a matter of course at any time before the case is closed.”

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double homestead exemption for married couple filing bankruptcy jointly

Can Married Couples Double Stack Homestead Exemptions: Explained

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Can Married Couples Double Stack Homestead Exemptions: Explained

If each spouse gets a homestead exemption in bankruptcy, it could double the amount of equity protected.

If married, can you double or stack a homestead exemption?  A homestead exemption helps protect your residence when you file bankruptcy. But if a married couple files jointly, does each get an exemption? Does the homestead exemption double for each spouse? Maybe. That would allow the debtors to double or stack the homestead exemption and protect more equity.

Courts have struggled with this. On the one hand, the law means what the law says. If the statute says the limit is a number, that’s the number. On the other hand, why should a person not get same the amount as if they were single? Put differently, if the exemption amount is the same if someone single or married, a married person is only getting half the protection.

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bankruptcy venue for is which district or circuit jurisdiction someone can file bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Venue and Where Can you File

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Bankruptcy Venue and Where Can you File

Bankruptcy venue is the concept that guides where, in which specific geographic location, someone can file a Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or other bankruptcy petition.

Where? In bankruptcy court, of course! Yes, but in which location? Must it be the exact federal circuit, state, or district in which someone lives? Or is having one asset in that district enough? And what if someone lives outside the United States… can they even file bankruptcy? Is having a bank account in a district sufficient contacts to establish proper venue?

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