In Re Roberge

ORDER OVERRULING TRUSTEE’S OBJECTION TO ÉXEMPTION

COLLEEN A. BROWN, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter presents a question of Vermont exemption law of first impression: namely, whether, in the absence of fraud, spouses who have been living separate and apart prior to filing for bankruptcy relief, may each claim, under the Vermont homestead exemption statute, the real property in which they reside as exempt in their joint bankruptcy case. This Court answers the question in the affirmative and holds that the estranged spouses may each exempt the homestead in which they reside, notwithstanding that…