Where to file

[tarichann]

Hi,
I am going to be filing for bankruptcy in the next couple days. I am meeting with an attorney on Monday. My question is I lived in Utah for 26 years, got married and moved to Texas, lived in Texas for a year and then moved back to Utah. Got divorced and need to file for bankruptcy. I have only been back in Utah for a year and a half so where do I file in Utah or Texas? I dont see how I would file in Texas seeing as I dont live there anymore and couldnt make trips back and forth. Thanks for your help T

[SMinGA]

You file where you have lived for the majority of the past 6 month - so your current state of Utah.

There is a 2nd part of the 'where' question though, in terms of exemptions. If you have lived in your current state for 24 months, you use its exemptions. You have not though. So then you look to where you lived the majority of the 6 months before the last 2 years. From your timeline, you have lived in Utah for the past 18 months and for 12 months prior in TX. So from 2 to 2 1/2 months ago you spent most (maybe all?) of that living in TX and must use TX exemptions.

The ruling on exemptions is to keep someone from 'setting up' residence in a state with liberal exemptions as a form of bankruptcy planning.