Judy Kay Philip

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IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
WILMINGTON DIVISION
IN RE:
JUDY KAY PHILIP,
Debtor. Case No. 05-07218-8-JRL
Chapter 13
______________________________________________________________________________
ORDER
This case is before the court on the debtor’s motion to avoid the judicial lien on residential real
estate. On December 19, 2005, the court conducted a hearing on this matter in Wilmington, North
Carolina.
The debtor seeks to avoid a judicial lien in the amount of $19,000.00 held by GE Money Bank on
real property located at 149 Central Blvd., Wilmington, North Carolina 28401. The debtor asserts that the
judicial lien impairs her exemption of $10,000.00 in her residence. The debtor owns one-half of the
property jointly with a non-debtor. She asserts that the fair market value of the property is no greater than
$76,989.00. Bank of America holds a first deed of trust on the property with a payoff balance of
$38,651.00 as of the filing date.
Only one-half of the mortgage debt is allocable to this debtor in determining whether the judgment
lien impairs the exemption that she claims in her residence as a joint tenant with a non-debtor. In re Miller,
229 F.3d 183, 186 (3d. Cir. 2002). Once half of the mortgage debt and the $10,000.00 exemption are
subtracted from one-half of the purported fair market value of the property, $9,169.00 remains in equity.
After subtracting the amount of equity from the judicial lien, only $9,831.00 can be avoided.
Case 05-07218-8-JRL Doc 20 Filed 12/29/05 Entered 12/29/05 16:25:48 Page 1 of 2

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Based on the foregoing, the court grants in part the motion to avoid the lien, finding that only
$9,831.00 of the judicial lien is avoided.
So Ordered.
DATED: December 29, 2005
Case 05-07218-8-JRL Doc 20 Filed 12/29/05 Entered 12/29/05 16:25:48 Page 2 of 2