Tag: homes

Homes in bankruptcy, and articles explaining how you can protect your house with a homestead exemption.

duplex apartment outhouses and homestead exemption house with knife

Duplex, ADUs, Apartments, Buildings and Calif Homestead Exemption

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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California bankruptcy exemptions can save your house.

New! 2024 California Homestead Exemption Increased by Inflation

2024 California Homestead Exemption, increased by inflation

Brand new! The maximum 2024 California Homestead Exemption amounts

The 2024 California homestead exemption numbers are already available, and different from last year, and even the original range of $300,000 to $600,000. In fact, in 2024, they top out way higher than $600,000, which helps you save more of your home from creditors than the homestead exemption could in 2023. Why? Because of inflation. The new California homestead exemption is tied to the CPI, or consumer price index.  And everyone knows things lately aren’t cheap.

November 2023 update: The new inflation-adjusted 2024 California homestead exemption is now known. See below what it will be for cases filed after Jan 1, 2024. Don’t worry – the 2023 homestead exemption amount is still here for cases filed before on Dec 31, 2023 or earlier.

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Figuring the Los Angeles Country median home price size is like trying to calculate the median coin weight when all we have is data about stack size

How to Figure the Los Angeles County Median Home Price (2023)

How to Figure Los Angeles County Median Home Price (2023 & 2024)

The Los Angeles County median home price in 2023 can be tricky to determine. There are different sources that say different things. It’s not clear which of the many options will be relied upon by courts and trustees for the California homestead exemption.  Also, while bankruptcy may seem to be “just forms,” make sure you check out my list of 12 crucial tips to do or avoid before filing bankruptcy.

2023 update: there seems to be a consensus among local bankruptcy attorneys as to what the Los Angeles County median home price is. More than that, this L.A. median price changes each year. While it’s still untested in court, a lot of the initial uncertainty has cleared up.  Read on!

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double homestead exemption for married couple filing bankruptcy jointly

Can Married Couples Double Stack Homestead Exemptions: Explained

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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lien in bankruptcy cars

Liens in Bankruptcy: The Ultimate Guide, Explained

Liens in Bankruptcy: The Ultimate Guide, Explained

Liens in bankruptcy typically survive and don’t get affected by the discharge. However, there are exceptions where the lien can be reduced or even eliminated. I try to break these down in simple terms that are easy to grasp. But don’t be fooled: bankruptcy is more complicated than you think. Get a consultation with an attorney, and make sure you check out my list of 12 crucial tips to do or avoid before filing bankruptcy.

What is a Lien in Bankruptcy?

A lien is a security interest of a debt that encumbers a thing owned by the borrower until the debt is paid. One common example is a car and the car loan. The borrower who “owns” a car can’t just sell the car outright. He has to pay the debt secured by the lien against the car first. Then, once the debt is paid, the lien is satisfied and removed.

Section 101(37) of the Bankruptcy Code defines “lien” as:

charge against or interest in property to secure payment of a debt or performance of an obligation.

How does bankruptcy affect a lien? The General Rule

The general rule for liens in bankruptcy (and there are exceptions) is that bankruptcy doesn’t affect a lien at all. If a debt is secured by a lien and collateral, if you wish to keep the asset, then that debt will survive the bankruptcy. You don’t get a free house or car in bankruptcy. Here, let me put that in a fancy quote because it is so important:

You don’t get a free house or car in bankruptcy.

– Attorney Hale Andrew Antico

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California Homestead and Reside Away from Home and State presents challenges

California Homestead: Intent to Reside and the Out-of-State Home

California Homestead: Intent to Reside and the Out-of-State Home

A bankruptcy attorney colleague recently asked, does the California homestead exemption protect you if you don’t reside in the house?  Are you required to live in the home? For how long? Who qualifies? Does the homestead exemption protect the home if the house isn’t in California? The answer, like most things in law, is: “it depends.”

Dual residency in two states and and claim homestead in both?

No, there is no dual residency in multiple states for the purposes of homestead. As you’ll read below, a homestead is the place in which you primarily live. You can’t primarily live in two places. So, the determination is where you primarily reside, which state law applies, and is the house protected by the California homestead exemption.

Let’s look at these “away from home” situations one at a time.

The California homestead and intent to reside

california homestead away from home
California homestead is challenged if away from home, and the intent to actually live there is unclear

First, can someone claim the California homestead exemption if they live in the house on the date the petition is filed, but move out after? What if they move out after the Chapter 7 bankruptcy is filed, but it’s just a temporary relocation?  Or what if the debtor who filed bankruptcy really has no intention to return?

The result is very fact-specific, and has had bankruptcy courts and appellate courts carefully examining the particulars for the debtor before filed, on the date the case was filed, and then after the case was filed. Let’s review a few significant cases in the Ninth Circuit to see how the courts have ruled.

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sell home chapter 13

Sell a Home in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Motion to Sell or Refi

Sell a Home in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Motion to Sell or Refi

My clients ask me, “can I sell a home in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy?”  As a bankruptcy attorney experienced in Chapter 13, selling a house is an issue that comes up often, particularly in a robust housing market. This is written without giving advice to the specifics of your case, but merely addressing whether it’s possible to sell or refinance a house during Chapter 13.

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sb1099 new california exemptions good news

SB1099: New 2023 California Bankruptcy Exemptions Increase

SB1099: New California Bankruptcy Exemptions Increase for 2023 | 5 Major Wins

SB1099, the new California exemptions increase which gives debtors in bankruptcy more protections, is now law.  The new California exemptions for 2023 help people in bankruptcy keep more of their assets, including their cars, their home, money, support pay, and sick leave. The bill was signed by the governor yesterday, and takes effect 1/1/2023.

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chapter 13 bankruptcy in los angeles

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Ultimate Guide

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – the Ultimate Guide

What is Chapter 13 bankruptcy? Chapter 13 bankruptcy is like debt consolidation, but better. It’s a solution for people who have some money to pay some of their debts back. In five years from now, paying minimums on all your debt, you’d still owe much of your debt. It’s because of that darned interest, and you’re barely paying principle. Chapter 13 bankruptcy fixes the interest problem.

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save home

Chapter 13 can Stop House Foreclosure

Chapter 13 bankruptcy can Stop House Foreclosure

Chapter 13 is a way to stop foreclosure, save your Home and catch up on the mortgage

Life happens. There’s a medical emergency, job loss, or some other unexpected situation and next thing you know, you can’t afford your mortgage payments. The mortgage company gives a Notice of Default, and then a Notice of Sale, and your home is in foreclosure. There’s a way to stop it and save the house.

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