So confused on my homestead exemption

[okiemom2008]

We are filing in Kansas and my lawyer says we cannot keep our home in Oklahoma. We are in Kansas temporarily and then going back to Oklahoma. He says we cannot use it as homestead exemption because it is vacant and in another state. So basically I just have to let it go? It has 15k equity in it...that I just put down on it in May out of my retirement account.

[justbroke]

Because you're not living in it... it is, by definition, not your homestead. It will remain property of the BK Estate. The Trustee will either try to sell it, or abandon it (if the Trustee doesn't feel they can get the money out of it). More than likely, the Trustee will probably abandon it, because $15K is not a lot of money to pay for closing, commissions, inspections, appraisals, etc.

Stop the presses. If you intend to move back into it -- real soon -- then you can exempt it. Kansas says that you can if you intend to move back into it. Do you really plan to go back real soon?

You already retained this lawyer? Maybe you should ask a couple of other ones... who are good with homesteaded property in a different State.

What do you define as "temporarily"? (Could make the difference.)

[okiemom2008]

Because you're not living in it... it is, by definition, not your homestead. It will remain property of the BK Estate. The Trustee will either try to sell it, or abandon it (if the Trustee doesn't feel they can get the money out of it). More than likely, the Trustee will probably abandon it, because $15K is not a lot of money to pay for closing, commissions, inspections, appraisals, etc.

Stop the presses. If you intend to move back into it -- real soon -- then you can exempt it. Kansas says that you can if you intend to move back into it. Do you really plan to go back real soon?

You already retained this lawyer? Maybe you should ask a couple of other ones... who are good with homesteaded property in a different State.

What do you define as "temporarily"? (Could make the difference.)

Well its really confusing because we are filing in Kansas...have the house in Oklahoma and are going by Texas BK laws because it is where we lived the most of the last 2 years.

We are here temporarily or we hope to be. We have lived in Kansas since last of September. We have people that want to buy the Oklahoma house but what would I do with the money if I did sell it and can the trustee just take it from me? My lawyer said to put it in IRA because we get a 5k exemption a year each. So if we sold it soon we could do 10k each for both 2008 and 2009.

I can move back if I need to just to say we live there. Alot of our stuff is still there. We are only 10 days late on this month mortgage..paying it right after Christmas.

We only lived in Oklahoma for3 months before moving here and then we are going to be moving back in April hopefully.

[justbroke]

Very interesting situation. I'd get another opinion of two from lawyers who are skilled at new-law affects of homesteads in other States.

So, you really don't know when/if you're going back, so it's not your homestead. Having stuff there, certainly does help, but you're not living there so it gets murky.

If you sell it before filing, then sticking it back into exempt assets would be good. You may be challenged, but since you pulled it out of exempt assets to start with... I think you'll have an argument.

[Keebler]

What's happening that makes it necessary to file right now?

You should consider stopping paying any of your unsecured debts and stay current on the house you intend to keep.

Why not hold tight until the situation is more favorable and then file at that time?