In Re Debtor Jeanette Aguilar

I. Factual and Procedural Background

A. Filing of Chapter 7 Petition and Appointment of Chapter 7 Trustee Although Appellant’s Opening Brief was not received by the Court until September 29, 2020, it was served on the Trustee on September 1, 2020. On March 8, 2018, Appellant filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Shortly thereafter, Grobstein was appointed to act as the Chapter 7 trustee for Appellant’s bankruptcy estate. Among the assets listed in Appellant’s schedule of assets and liabilities (the “Schedule”) was a single family residence located at 9069 Mandarin Lane, Riverside, California 92508 (the “Property”), with a listed fair market value of $350,000, and liens of $185,000. In addition, Appellant listed approximately $35,000 in general unsecured claims, and she claimed a homestead exemption in the amount of $175,000 under California Code of Civil Procedure § 704.730(a)(3)(B).2 Before listing the Property, the Trustee repeatedly reached out to Appellant to determine if she had a viable plan to pay creditors without requiring the sale of her…