Bankr. No.:
05-42419
Chapter:
7
Date of Decision:
January 31, 2007
Issue:
Whether the debtor could claim a homestead exemption in the marital home that he vacated pre-petition pursuant to a protection order where the debtor was not living in the home on his petition date, where the debtor had not sought to retain the home in his and his wife’s divorce action, and where the debtor disclosed in his Statement of Intention that he was going to surrender the house to the mortgage holder?
Ruling:
The debtor was not permitted to claim a homestead exemption in the marital home. Though the debtor had involuntarily vacated the home, he thereafter exhibited no actual intent to return to that house and use it as his home.
Full Bankruptcy Court Decision:
