This Court has long held that "the date when [a
bankruptcy] petition is filed" is the "point of time" at
which "the status and rights of the bankrupt ... are
fixed." White v. Stump, 266 U.S. 310, 313 (1924).

The question presented is whether a homestead
exemption to which a debtor is entitled on the date he
files for bankruptcy can vanish if the debtor sells his
homestead during the pendency of bankruptcy
proceedings and does not reinvest the proceeds in
another homestead.

Whether a homestead exemption to which a debtor is entitled on the date of bankruptcy filing can be lost if the debtor sells the homestead during the bankruptcy proceedings and does not reinvest the proceeds