Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

First, you have a very basic problem which involves your ability to "exempt," or protect any property which you own in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. As you now are domiciled in Thailand, you may not be entitled to claim the exemptions provided for in California law. You will need to review with a California bankruptcy attorney the timing of your move to Thailand, and where you lived prior to that. Generally, you are allowed to use the exemption statutes of the state in which you have been domiciled for the two years immediately preceding your bankruptcy filing. That generally requires that you live in the state at the time of filing. Alternatively, if you have been moving around, you would generally use the exemption statutes of the state in which you lived longest for the 180 days preceding the two years prior to filing. This is a very complex rule, so you really need to discuss with an experienced bankruptcy attorney all of the facts.

Second, you may file bankruptcy in the United States even though you live overseas, however, you will be required to attend a Meeting of Creditors in the States. At least in our judicial district, the only excuse for not appearing is an absolute inability to attend - this generally involves problems of health or military service. Chosing to live overseas is probably not going to buy you a pass on attending in the US. The proper "venue" for where you should file is the place where your principal assets are located. Now, there is an argument that if the assets in Nevada are more valuable than those in California, you may need to file in Nevada. Again - this requires a full discussion of the facts of your case before anyone can provide advice.

Finally, as to your question about equity, $80,000 equity in a property in which you do not reside (and therefore are not entitled to the homestead exemption) is probably too much equity to protect under either set of California exemption laws, assuming you can even claim them. Again - you need to discuss this with a qualified, experienced bankruptcy attorney here in California.

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