Lowe v. DeBerry (In Re DeBerry)

GREGG COSTA, Circuit Judge:

Curtis DeBerry filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, listing his San Antonio home as exempt under Texas law. No objections were filed to this claimed exemption. Seven months later the bankruptcy court granted DeBerry’s motion for authorization to sell the home, and he sold it for $364,592.21. DeBerry did not reinvest those proceeds in another home. Instead he transferred the money to his wife and to the law firm Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley for the benefit of two partners who represented him in a criminal matter. We must decide whether the proceeds of a homestead sold…