Toni Braxton Seeks to Keep Georgia Home Despite Bankruptcy
Despite a massively successful music career, which includes the sale of 40 million albums, six Grammy awards, a two-year Las Vegas show and an appearance on Dancing With The Stars, R & B singer Toni Braxton was forced to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in September. Last week, she filed a notice notifying the court that she intends to keep her Duluth, Georgia home despite seeking bankruptcy protection.
Braxton’s Georgia single-family home, which is part of Duluth’s Sugarloaf Country Club community, was the only real property asset listed in the financial records filed with her bankruptcy. According to court records, Braxton owes lender Wells Fargo Bank $1.6 million on a secured mortgage claim. An appraisal done in December valued the home at $1.2 million.
In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a filer can permanently discharge certain debts, while maintaining specified assets such as a primary residence and motor vehicle. However, Chapter 7 bankruptcy procedure dictates that an independent bankruptcy official will be appointed to sell assets in order to repay creditors.
Braxton is seeking to maintain ownership of her Georgia home, despite the discrepancy between the home’s value and the amount she owes on it. “It is the debtor’s hope to renegotiate a modified loan to remain in the property,” Braxton said in the recently filed court notice.
The last several months have been difficult for Braxton. Last November, she separated from her husband of eight years. Her homes in Los Angeles and Henderson, Nevada were reportedly subjected to foreclosure proceedings earlier this year. Braxton also recently announced that she suffered from lupus, a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder.
Source: Wall Street Journal, “Braxton Intends to Keep Georgia Home“, Jacqueline Palank, 16 November 2010
