From the Editor – Property of Estate and Exemptions

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Surcharge of exemption violated § 522(k). The Supreme Court held, in the unanimous opinion of Justice Scalia, that the bankruptcy court had exceeded its authority when it surcharged the Chapter 7 debtor’s homestead exemption for the payment of a portion of the trustee’s administrative expense. The debtor’s only significant asset was his California home, which he valued at $363,348, and the debtor claimed the California homestead of $75,000. The debtor had a first mortgage, apparently valid, for approximately $147,000, but he asserted that . . .

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