Mobile Home Owner Eligible For "Wildcard" Personal Property Exemption in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

People who do not claim or benefit from a homestead exemption are entitled to an additional personal property exemption in the amount of $4,000 in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The $4,000 property exemption can be added to the debtors Constitutional exemptions of $1,000 for all personal property. Bankruptcy debtors who intend to keep their primary residence in bankruptcy do not get the additional $4,000 exemption according to several Florida bankruptcy court decisions. In a recent case, a court considered whether someone who lives in a mobile home situated on a rental lot Mobile homes used as a debtor’s primary residence are exempt in bankruptcy pursuant to Florida Statute 222.05

A bankruptcy court held that a Chapter 7 debtor who claims an exemption for a mobile home, when the same debtor does not own the underlying land, may also claim an additional $4,000 personal property exemption provided by Florida Statute 222.25(4). The court distinguished the mobile home exemption under 222.05 from the Constitutional homestead exemption even though in either case the exemptions apply to owner occupied dwelling. The court said that the Constitutional homestead exemption is applicable only where the debtor the land and the improvements on the land; Florida Statute 222.05 addresses specifically those situations where the debtor owns the improvement (the mobile home) but does not own the underlying land. Because a debtor claiming exemption for a mobile home under 222.05 does not benefit from the Constitutional homestead exemption that debtor is eligible for the additional $4,000 personal property exemption under 222.25(4). In re: Richard Lisowski, 07-bk-8495-PMG.

posted by Jonthan Alper, bankruptcy and asset protection attorney, Orlando, Florida