Mobile homes are a common housing choice throughout the United States. You can find anything from a bargain trailer park in Tornado Alley, to a multi-million dollar lot overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu.

If you file for bankruptcy and are a homeowner, you can usually protect your primary residence when it’s a conventional home. But can you protect a mobile home in the same way?

Many of our clients have faced this same situation, and none of them have had to give up their mobile homes.

How Do You Roll?

In bankruptcy, you are granted exemptions that protect specific types of property. Each exemption has a different dollar value. The dollar values are higher for homes than for other property such as vehicles or furniture. This is why you would want your mobile home to be treated like a house and not a car when you file for bankruptcy.

Is It a House Or Is It a Car?

In most states, as long as you live in a mobile home full-time, it is treated as a home for bankruptcy purposes. This often applies to an RV as well, even if you are traveling the world in it. It just has to be your full-time dwelling.

Is It Complicated?

When we have clients who own a mobile home, we simply verify that it’s their primary residence. We then treat it just like any other home. With the protection of the homestead exemption (the one that protects homes in bankruptcy) we have never had a problem protecting a mobile home at our firm.

A Word of Caution

Protecting a mobile home is an issue that can vary tremendously depending on your home state. Please contact a local bankruptcy attorney prior to making any decisions about your mobile home.