If debtor lived in California, things may turn out differently. If my recollection does not fail me, in California, debtor's intent to treat the property as residence is controlling. For instance, in a recent case, client operated a business in Santa Barbara, but never abandoned her residence in Los Angeles. She rented a portion of her residence in Los Angeles but nevertheless kept a room for herself when she came back to Los Angeles, every weekend. Her Los Angeles residence had equity of $150,000 which she exempted in full because she was 65 years old on the date that her case was filed. The trustee did not question the exemption. Thus, if Goulakos lived in California, instead of Massachusetts, she would lose her house to the trustee because her intent was to abandon her residence ten years before she filed for bankruptcy relief. On the other hand, if she had decided to live in her residence before she filed for bankruptcy, her intent to return to the marital residence would make her exemption claim valid.

Lawrence Bautista Yang is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and has been in law practice for thirty years. He specializes in bankruptcy, business and civil litigation and has handled more than five thousand successful bankruptcy cases in California. He speaks Mandarin and Fujien and looks forward to discussing your case with you personally. Please call (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S Fremont Ave Bldg A-1 Suite 1125 Unit 58 Alhambra, CA 91803.