I discussed the following case with a creditor attorney. A debtor loses his house at a foreclosure sale. The foreclosure sale price brings in enough money to pay off the mortgage and provide excess funds of $20,000. The funds are held temporarily in the trust account of the debtor’s attorney. Next, the debtor files bankruptcy. The question is whether the excess funds from the sale of a Florida homestead are exempt.
Florida law protects the proceeds from the sale of a homestead so long as the debtor intends to reinvest the proceeds in a new homestead. No case has distinguished proceeds from a voluntary sale from foreclosure sale proceeds. Therefore, the foreclosure proceeds should be exempt if intended for a new homestead.
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