The creditor’s judgment lien impaired the debtor’s federal homestead exemption even though she did not reside on the property, where her dependent son lived on the property part-time with the debtor’s ex-husband. Donovan v. Maresca, No. 18-1146 (D. Conn. Sept. 30, 2019).
When Melissa Maresca filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, her divorce attorney held a judgment lien against real property Ms. Maresca owned with her ex-husband. Although Ms. Maresca did not use the property as her residence, her ex-husband resided there and her dependent son used the home as his part-time residence. In her bankruptcy, Ms. Maresca elected to use the federal exemptions and she sought to avoid the lien as impairing her federal homestead exemption under section 522(f). The creditor objected arguing that because Ms. Maresca did not reside on the property, she was not entitled to use the homestead exemption. The bankruptcy court granted Ms. Maresca’s motion to avoid the lien. [Read more…] about Federal Homestead Exemption Applies to Property Debtor’s Dependent Lives on Part-Time