In 2008 Virgil Hurd was kicked out of his home by his ex-wife. At that time he m

Question

In 2008 Virgil Hurd was kicked out of his home by his ex-wife. At that time he moved into his horse trailer (the “Trailer”) to keep warm. The Trailer is twenty feet long and six feet wide. Virgil gets electricity for the Trailer from a socket and water from a barrel with a pump. He receives his mail at the land where the Trailer is parked. Since January of 2010, Virgil spends approximately 70 percent of his time at his girlfriend’s house. In addition using the Trailer as a place to sleep, Virgil also uses it for transporting his horses and his girlfriend’s horses. In April of 2010, he filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for Western District of Missouri. In his schedule of exemptions, he listed the entire $3,000 value of the Trailer as exempt under a Missouri statute, which exempts any mobile home used as the principal residence that does not exceed $5,000 in value. The term mobile home in not defined in that statute. The Chapter 7 trustee objects to Virgil’s claim of a Missouri exemption in a horse trailer used as his living quarters. The trustee contends that the Trailer was not Virgil’s principal residence during the six- to twelve-month period before filing his bankruptcy petition, and that the Trailer does not qualify as a “mobile home” under the Missouri statute. Should the Trailer be exempt from the bankruptcy estate?

Explanation / Answer

Virgil Hurd ( debtor) claimed the exemption pursuant to Missouri State law hence the scope should be determined according to state law.

As per section 513.430.1 debtor’s interest in a property is exempt from attachment and execution up to a value of $15,000. If the property is mobile home the exemption is limited to $ 5,000.

Section 513.430 does not define mobile home but section 700.010 defines the term manufactured home. No separate definition is provided for mobile home.

Hence definition of mobile home should be interpreted from manufactured home defined in section 700.010 because this section refers manufactured homes and mobile homes synonymously.

As per section 700.010 structure should be eight feet wide and forty feet long or it should contain 320 or more square feet. But the trailer contains only 120 square feet hence it does not qualify as mobile home.

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