Exempt Entireties Property not Subject to 522(p) Limitation

In the case of In re Buonopane, ___ B.R. ____, 2007 WL 247888 (Bkrtcy. M.D. Fla.)Williamson, J.) the Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the cap imposed by section 522(p) on the state homestead exemption that a debtor can claim in residential property acquired within 1,215 days of the petition date applied only to the Florida homestead exemption that the debtor could claim under 522(b)(3)(A) and not to the separate exemption available under section 522(b)(3)(B) for property held as tenants by the entireties. In Florida, a judgment against one spouse individually is not enforceable against property owned by both spouses as tenants by the entirety. The court's decision is in accord with a recent decision in the Southern District of Florida in the case of In re Schwarz, __ B.R. ___, 2007 WL 247649 (Bkrtcy.S.D.Fla.)(Olson, J.).

The Court stated while its ruling would appear to provide a way for a debtor to "end run" the $125,000 cap contained in section 522(p), that its ruling is consistent with the legislative history of section 522(p)(1) which was directed to close the "mansion loophole" and not against a state's common law on tenancy by the entireties property.(305) 891-4055 - Jordan E. Bublick is a Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer with over 25 years of experience in filing Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 Bankrkuptcy Cases.