How does a martial settlement agreement affect my bankruptcy?
There are occasions that arise either before or during bankruptcy cases where a married couple gets divorced and wants to sell their martial home.
If you are residing in the marital home at the time you file for bankruptcy you can declare it as homestead property, and it is exempt from the trustee taking it. If you decide to divorce and sell your marital home prior to filing bankruptcy, then the proceeds from the sale of the home are not exempt.
You would either have to spend those funds on reasonable living expenses prior to filing your bankruptcy case or invest those sale proceeds into another home. If you are getting divorced in the middle of your Chapter 13 case and want to sell your marital home, you will need to file a motion and have a court order permitting the sale and have a determination made on how the sale proceeds will be spent.
You can typically re-invest the money into a new homestead, as long as, that occurs within a year. You would need to open a new bank account that is clearly titled “Homestead proceeds” and not co-mingle that money with other funds in order to protect those funds.
If you plan to move out of the State of Florida, then the home sale proceeds would not be exempt since you are relocating outside of the state. These situations can be tricky and its best to seek the advice of an attorney prior to making any decisions to ensure those funds are protected.
