In re Carter
550 B.R. 433
| Bankr. W.D. Wis. | 2016Background
- Debtor Jayne Carter filed Chapter 7 on Feb. 10, 2015, listing two owned residences: Madison (where she maintained legal residence at filing) and Laona (which she claimed as her exempt homestead under Wis. Stat. § 815.20).
- Carter purchased and lived primarily in the Madison house from 2011 until July 8, 2015; her driver’s license, vehicle registration, tax returns, and mail reflected the Madison address for several years.
- Carter owned the Laona residence since 1986 (subject to her mother’s life estate until 2004) and spent at least two weekends a month and several summer weeks there from 2002 to July 2015; it was furnished and she kept food and some clothing at Laona.
- On July 8, 2015 Carter moved from Madison to Laona after finding employment in the Laona area.
- The Chapter 7 trustee objected to Carter’s claimed Laona homestead exemption, arguing she resided in Madison at the time of filing; Carter relied on prior bankruptcy authority (In re Lackowski) interpreting occupancy versus legal residence.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Carter "occupies" the Laona residence at the time of filing so it qualifies for the Wisconsin homestead exemption | Trustee: Carter’s documentary indicia show Madison is her legal residence at filing, so Laona is not an occupied homestead | Carter: Despite Madison being her legal residence on documents, she occupied Laona regularly (weekends/holidays and seasonal weeks) and selected it as her homestead | Court: Occupancy is distinct from legal residence; substantial, repeated use of Laona constituted "occupancy." Trustee failed to overcome presumption favoring debtor’s claimed homestead; exemption allowed |
Key Cases Cited
- In re Laube, 152 B.R. 260 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1993) (homestead statutes are remedial and liberally construed in favor of debtor)
- Moore v. Krueger, 179 Wis.2d 449, 507 N.W.2d 155 (Wis. Ct. App. 1993) (presumption that property selected by debtor as homestead is in fact homestead property)
- State Central Credit Union v. Bigus, 101 Wis.2d 237, 304 N.W.2d 148 (Wis. Ct. App. 1981) (homestead statutes are to be liberally construed in favor of the debtor)