State law insulated a recorded judgment lien from future increases in the homestead exemption. However, bankruptcy law trumps that limitation, says the 9th Circuit in Barclay v. Boskoski. [T]he Bankruptcy Code requires courts to determine the amount of the exemption to whichthe debtor would have been entitled in the absence of the lien at issue […]
Lien Avoidance In Bankruptcy: The Questions You Need To Answer
Black letter law says liens pass through bankruptcy unchanged. But the better statement adds a single word: unless. Liens survive bankruptcy intact unless….unless you take some action to void them. One tool to void liens lives in §522(f). Its location in Chapter 5 tells you that it’s available to any individual debtor who is entitled […]
Case Closed: Too Soon
Do I have to wait til the bankruptcy discharge is entered to avoid a lien under §522(f)? It might be logical but do so at your peril, I replied. Actually “peril” is an overstatement, but in this date of electronic dockets, most clerk’s offices are closing no asset Chapter 7 cases just as soon as […]
