Last week, our post “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” discussed a Texas bankruptcy court decision rejecting efforts by debtor Sam Wyly to claim as exempt a number of offshore private annuities. In denying the exemptions, the bankruptcy judge rejected the debtor’s arguments that the principle of liberal application of exemptions and the policy of … Continue Reading
The bankruptcy courts have a long history of being willing to use their judicial power under the Bankruptcy Code to prevent perceived efforts by debtors to inappropriately shield their assets from creditors. This is true even when the debtors employ structures and devices that are complex and crafted in seeming compliance with applicable law. A … Continue Reading
Did I say I didn’t have any assets, I meant they were exempt!” Can a debtor lose the right to exempt property in a bankruptcy case if it is discovered that the debtor fraudulently failed to disclose assets or otherwise acted in bad faith? Elliot Smith discusses the recent Sixth Circuit opinion in Ellmann v. … Continue Reading
