Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Florida

Your ownership interest in the lot is an asset that must be included in your bankruptcy. You are entitled to keep up to $4,000 in value in all personal assets. You may include in this total the value of your ownership interest in this vacant lot. However, if the total value of your personal assets exceeds $4,000, then you will probably have to pay some money to the bankruptcy trustee. Our office handles a lot of bankruptcy cases. We would be happy to discuss the situation with you.

Assuming Florida exemptions apply, the simple answer is "probably yes". There are some exemptions based upon dollar amount, and some based on the type of property. In addition to the general $1,000.00 personal property exemption, there is an additional $4,000.00 wildcard exemption if you do not get the benefit of a homestead exemption.

Keep in mind that even if you can't exempt the property, a Chapter 7 trustee is not likely to have much interest in it. The trustee would likely try to sell it either back to you (as a "buyback") or to the co-owner. Note that in my view the value of a 1/2 interest in a lot has a value of less than half the amount of the total lot, because it's such a hard item to sell. Trustees as a rule are interested in cash and "liquid" items they can turn into cash. You should be able to negotiate a low "buyback" even if your interest is not entirely covered by the exemption.

Good Luck.