I now live in Utah and we have been divorced 2 years but we still own a home in Washington. I want to file but I don't want it to affect my ex or the home. Due to the housing problems, we have been unable to sell and he continues to live there. I have been in Utah since Feb 2012.
Whether you would "lose" any property in bankruptcy depends on a number of different factors including (but not limited to) the following:
1. Whether you are current with the payments to creditors secured by the property (if you are not current with the payments, or proposing a plan in a Chapter 13 or Chapter 11 case to cure arrearages, then they can foreclose regardless of whether you file bankruptcy or not;
2. If there's any equity in the property and, if so, what exemptions you have available under applicable state or federal law to protect that equity. (Based on your facts, it looks like Utah's exemption laws would apply assuming you have lived there for more than 2 years. If less than that, it could be elsewhere.
3. Which bankruptcy chapter you file (assets are not sold in either Chapter 11 or 13, unless you choose to sell them).
Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling 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
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