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Bankruptcy Law/Ch.7 property valuation-joint tenency

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Expert: - 10/12/2005


Question
From:  James Fender    Riverside County, CA

Dear Mr. Markus

In contemplating Chapter 7, would you have a general comment as to how a home which is worth about 400K might be treated in view of the fact that the debtor is not the sole owner but is one of two individuals in a joint tenency ownership. Could this possibly reduce the risk to the debtor of losing the home, or more precisely, that half owned by the debtor.    Thank you!     James  

Answer
Whether it reduces the risk depends on the amount of liens and encumbrances against the property and what exemptions are available to the debtor filing the bankruptcy case.  The debtor's joint tenancy cuts the realizable value in half, but the calculation is more complicated than that.

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Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney

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Mark J. Markus is a Los Angeles bankruptcy attorney who has practiced exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991 and is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He represents debtors, creditors, and Trustees in Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code throughout California.

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Visit our California bankruptcy webpage at http://www.bklaw.com for more information on bankruptcy in general and Mark J. Markus in particular. Many questions are answered on the web page (hint, hint).
The Markus webpage also contains more information on

  • Which Chapter to File,
  • business bankruptcy,
  • chapter 7 bankruptcy,
  • chapter 11 bankruptcy,
  • chapter 13 bankruptcy,
  • Do You Need a Lawyer to File Bankruptcy?
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    Organizations
    Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association (CDCBAA) Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Financial Lawyers Conference (FLC) National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum (LABF) American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) San Fernando Valley Bar Association (SFVBA)

    Publications
    Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association Newsletter September 2007 (Vol. 1, Issue 2)

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    J.D., University of Arizona 1990. B.A. Economics, California State University, Northridge 1986. For more details please click here

    Awards and Honors
    AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell (http://www.martindale.com) A+ Rated by Better Business Bureau

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