Can my Chapter 7 trustee kick me out of my Florida home?
Not if you hire an experienced bankruptcy lawyer.
As I previously reported, we have a problem in the state of Florida with a few rogue bankruptcy trustees using unsavory tactics to shakedown Chapter 7 debtors.
Specifically, in the State of Florida, a debtor can choose between his homestead exemption and his wildcard exemption. The homestead exemption grants the debtor protection of all his home equity while the wildcard exemption grants $4,000 per debtor that can be applied to any property.
Since, according to CoreLogic, half of all Florida homes have zero or negative equity, the home equity exemption is worthless. Therefore, debtors are opting to select the wildcard exemption to protect more of their personal property from the bankruptcy estate.
The trustee’s job is to maximize the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of creditors, and he’s none too happy about the size of the estate being shrunk by up to $8,000 in a joint case where debtors elect the wildcard exemption. While the mainstream trustees have accepted this new reality, the rogue trustees have deployed guerrilla-like tactics against Florida debtors.
Specifically, the rogue bankruptcy trustee demands that the debtor “turn over the keys” to their home if they fail to claim the homestead exemption. Now, we all know the trustee doesn’t want the house or the keys. He is merely attempting to extort money from a frightened debtor with visions of being booted to the curb.
Check out the rest here…
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Bloomberg reporting that Realtytrac is reporting that foreclosure filings have fallen below expectations………
32 MILLION FRAUDCLOSURES WAS THE REALTYTRAC ESTIMATE……………………SCURILOUS BASTARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually the potential total exemption for joint-filing spouses would be $10,000 instead of $8,000. There is case law that allows the $4,000 per debtor exemption (pursuant to F.S. 222.25(4)) to be claimed IN ADDITION to the normal $1,000 per debtor exemption on any property (pursuant to Article 10 Section 4 of the Constitution).
See In re Gatto, 380 B.R. 88, and see In re Enock Sanon, 9:08-bk-14809-ALP docket # 18.
And then, don’t forget the $1,000 per vehicle exemption.
What about Chapter 13,2?