Justia U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Debtor appealed from an order of the bankruptcy court sustaining creditor's objection to her claim of a homestead exemption as to the bank's claim. Debtor used the proceeds from the sale of her Cerromar property to build the Pleasant Hill property, in which she asserted a homestead exemption. At issue was whether the bankruptcy court properly sustained the bank's objection to debtor's homestead exemption. The court held that creditor established that its debt was incurred before debtor acquired the Pleasant Hill property, which meant the property would not be exempt from creditor's judgment and that the Cerromar property was not legally debtor's homestead and she could not avail herself to the protection of Iowa Code 561.20. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment because the bankruptcy court properly sustained creditor's objection to debtor's claim of homestead exemption as to creditor's preexisting debts.