Law Commons^™

Repose Or Not? Informal Objections To Claims Of Exemptions After Taylor V. Freeland, Kenneth D. Ferguson

Faculty Works

In Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz, over the trustee's untimely objection, the Supreme Court permitted the bankruptcy debtor to exempt $110,000 that was ineligible under substantive exemption law. The Court rejected the view that unless the debtor had a good faith claim to the exemption or a statutory basis for the exemption, even an untimely objection to the debtor's claim of exemption could terminate the debtor's right to the exemption. Disturbed by the prospects of debtors receiving unjustified windfalls, several courts have developed "informal objection" doctrines to circumvent the "strict constructionist" doctrine of Taylor. However, Taylor's potential for encouraging debtors …

Discourse And Discharge: Linguistic Analysis And Abuse Of The "Exemption By Declaration" Process In Bankruptcy, Kenneth D. Ferguson

Faculty Works

In Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz, the United States Supreme Court interpreted section 522(1) of the Bankruptcy Code according to its "plain meaning" and permitted a debtor to exempt $110,000 that was ineligible for exemption under substantive exemption law. The decision of the Court was premised on the fact that there was no timely objection to the claim of exemption. Although conceding that its decision might tempt debtors to claim exemptions in property ineligible for exemption on the chance that the trustee and creditors would fail to object in time, the Court cataloged a number of other remedies, including denial …

Does Payment By Check Constitute A Transfer Upon Delivery Or Payment?, Kenneth D. Ferguson

Faculty Works

The inherent delay between delivery and a check's payment is significant in determining whether the transfer occurs upon delivery or payment of the check. A dilemma is created if a check is received on the 93rd day before the debtor's bankruptcy petition is filed, but payment occurs on the 89th day before the petition is filed. When is the transfer of funds considered to have occurred for the purpose of determining whether the payment is avoidable as a preference, on the 93rd or 89th day before the petition was filed?

The first section of this article analyzes of the legal …