Q: Can we keep both properties. Primary residence is in husband's name second home wife's name now used as rental.
We are considering filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy the first of the year. My concern is can we keep both houses. My husband is the only one on the mortgage for our primary residence in which the equity is about 8000 is all. I am the owner of a home that I lived in previously before we got married and moved in together. I am currently renting this home and would like to keep it for future security! It has equity of about 27000 and it's only under my name.
A:
The homestead exemption only applies for the property used as a residence, so neither of you can claim an exemption for the second home. You can either file a chapter 13 or chapter 7, but will need to pay the amount of equity. Depending on how much your debts are, it might make more sense to take out a home equity line to pay back your debts rather than filing bankruptcy.
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