Guthrie v. Stadtmueller (In re Guthrie)
- Summarized by Laura Coordes , Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law Arizona State University
- 6 years 4 months ago
- Case Type:
- Consumer
- Case Status:
- Affirmed
- Citation:
- SC-15-1390-FYJu (9th Circuit, Jan 31,2017) Not Published
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- Bankruptcy court's order sustaining chapter 7 trustee's objection to debtor's claimed homestead exemption affirmed.
- Procedural context:
- Appeal from the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of California; reviewed de novo (with respect to legal issues) and under a clearly erroneous standard (with respect to factual findings).
- Facts:
- Debtor transferred his home to his ex-wife via quitclaim deed for no consideration. Although he did not have legal title to the property, he attempted to claim a homestead exemption after filing for bankruptcy. Debtor cited many reasons for transferring his home to his ex-wife, including to avoid IRS liens. The Chapter 7 trustee filed a motion to retain counsel to pursue avoidance actions, at which point debtor transferred title to the property back to himself. The trustee objected to debtor's claimed homestead exemption, arguing that debtor had no legal interest in the property on the date of bankruptcy and that debtor was barred from claiming a homestead exemption because the transfer to debtor's wife was a fraudulent transfer. The bankruptcy court sustained the trustee's objection.
- Judge(s):
- Faris, Yun, Jury
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