In re Cole

MEMORANDUM OPINION ON HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION

Michael G. Williamson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge

This case turns on a familiar baseball adage: a tie goes to the runner. The Chap-ter 7 Trustee in this case has objected to the Debtor’s attempt to claim a house she acquired as á beneficiary under her mother’s living trust as homestead. According to the Trustee, the homestead exemption cannot be used to extinguish a preexisting lien. Here, the Trustee holds the rights of a hypothetical judgment lien creditor as of the petition date. But the property could not have become homestead until the…