Can a Chapter 7 debtor amend their exemptions in a reopened case to exempt a previously undisclosed personal injury claim?

Yes – but only if the debtor can show “excusable neglect” they can amend their exemptions in a reopened proceeding.

However, in a recent 10th Circuit case, the court held that a Chapter 7 debtors failed to establish that their failure to disclose a personal injury claim, which they subsequently settled for $8,000, was the result of excusable neglect. As a result, the previously undisclosed personal injury claim was not exempted from the bankruptcy estate because the Chapter 7 debtors failed to establish that their failure to disclose a personal injury claim,  was the result of excusable neglect.

In re Mendoza, 584 B.R. 355 (Bankr. D. N.M., Jan. 31, 2018)

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