Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Massachusetts

Re: Fraudulent conveyance

a transfer of any asset in contemplation of a bankruptcy where there are creditors would be considered a fraudulent conveyance. You do not mention the crime that your book's character has committed, but if it was financial in nature, transferring the house to the wife could probably be overturned by the Chapter 7 trustee. one way to arguably get around the issue would be to consider having the wife or some third party actually pay the character the value of his equity in the house so the argument could be made the consideration was paid in exchange for the transfer. In a Chapter 7, you can elect to take either the state exemptions or the federal exemptions. The state homestead exemption in a Chapter 7 protects $500,000.00 of equity in real estate. Unfortunately, the state personal property exemptions are quite limited. The federal exemptions are more liberal. If you look at section 522 of the Bankruptcy Code, you will find the applicable federal exemptions. There is a limited exemption for jewelry and motor vehicles. There is a wild card exemptions that can be applied to any asset in addition to an exemption for personal property (around $9,000.00). If you have any more questions, please feel free to give me a call. Barry