QUESTION

My parents are in a position that they may have to file bankruptcy (in Minnesota).

Asked on May 03rd, 2012 on Bankruptcy - Minnesota
More details to this question:
They own a house as the primary residence and a family cabin with some land. My question is can they transfer their primary residence to the cabin and give up the house they live in now? Or some years ago they had papers drawn up for my sister and I to have our names on the house and the cabin (a living will I think it is) but the final papers have not been signed yet ... can we sign these papers and then protect the cabin for them to have as their primary residence? Basically ... is there a legal way to make it so they keep the cabin and lose the main house? Thank you for any help in this matter.
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2 ANSWERS

William/J Joanis
They need to be VERY careful to not have it be a fraudulent conveyance.  For example,. if they transfer the cabin to one of the kids, the trustee can get a judgment against the kid and then sell the cabin, but probably for a lot less at a sheriff sale than the amount of the judgment and the kid would owe the difference.  And the parents could risk not having their debts discharged in the bankruptcy (not to mention a criminal charge).  I don't mean to scare you, but this is not a place to play around.  There are ways to achieve what you desire, but only after a pretty careful consideration of the facts.  My advice, get them to someone who is wiling to help walk them through the options in a no cost consultation.  We provide those as do many other reputable bankruptcy firms.
Answered on May 23rd, 2012 at 10:32 AM

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Bankruptcy Attorney serving Burbank, CA
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I think what you're asking is whether they can change which property their homestead exemption pertains to so they can protect the equity in that property.  Is that correct?  I'm not clear from your facts.  If so, the answer is "probably", but it's going to depend entirely on the laws of Minnesota, so you really need to consult an attorney in your area about what is necessary to do that properly. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr
Answered on May 04th, 2012 at 2:16 AM

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