This week’s Win Wednesday celebrates an important legal victory in North Dakota that helped protect our client’s right to use an exemption available under state law.
The case involved a married couple who filed separate Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. When the husband filed bankruptcy first, he claimed North Dakota’s Head of a Family exemption to protect certain personal property.
About 11 months later, his wife filed her own bankruptcy case and also claimed the exemption. However, the bankruptcy trustee challenged her right to do so, arguing that because her husband had already claimed the exemption, she could no longer use it while they remained legally married.
Attorney Ethan Mustonen challenged that argument on behalf of our client.
The case went before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of North Dakota. After reviewing the law and hearing the arguments, the court ruled in our client’s favor and overruled the trustee’s objection.
The court explained that North Dakota law does not limit the Head of a Family exemption to just one spouse or prevent the other spouse from claiming it in a separate bankruptcy case simply because it was previously claimed.
As a result, the court allowed our client to protect $6,629.71 in personal property under the exemption.
This decision is a great example of why understanding the protections available under bankruptcy law matters. Even when one spouse has filed bankruptcy before, the other spouse does not automatically lose the right to claim available exemptions.
Congratulations to Attorney Ethan Mustonen on this successful outcome and to our North Dakota client on this important victory!
At Walker & Walker, we believe everyone deserves to have their rights protected and the opportunity to make the most of the protections available under bankruptcy law.
