Selling a Home During an “Open Bankruptcy” and Protecting the Proceeds in Arizona

Selling a Home During an “Open Bankruptcy” and Protecting the Proceeds in Arizona​ Arizona has a friendly homestead exemption, which allows anyone over 18 years of age and who resides in Arizona, to protect up to $150,000 in equity (See A.R.S. §33-1101(A)(1)). If the homestead is sold, the resulting proceeds are also exempt up to […]

Inherited IRAs are Explicitly Protected Under Arizona Law

Inherited IRAs are Explicitly Protected Under Arizona Law Arizona is one of only eight states that provides specific bankruptcy protection for inherited IRA’s. A.R.S. § 33-1126(B) explicitly protects any money or assets payable to any participant or beneficiary in a retirement plan which meets IRC requirements, “whether the beneficiary’s interest arises by inheritance, designation, appointment […]

Filing Bankruptcy in Arizona with Checks Still Pending

Filing Bankruptcy in Arizona with Checks Still Pending Pending transactions, such as checks and debits must be considered prior to filing the bankruptcy petition. This issue was addressed with In re Brubaker, 443 B.R. 176 (2011), when a debtor filed bankruptcy with a scheduled account balance of $513, when in fact the actual account balance was […]

An Inherited Retirement Account Can Be Exempted in an Arizona Bankruptcy

An Inherited Retirement Account Can Be Exempted in an Arizona Bankruptcy Inherited retirement accounts are difficult to exempt and the analysis is complex. There is, however, an applicable exemption under Arizona Revised Statutes. Using federal exemptions, an inherited account is not exempt (See Clark v. Rameker 134 S.Ct. 2242, 189 L.Ed.2d 157 (2014)). Fortunately, 11 U.S.C. § […]

$20,000 Death Benefit Exemption, Trustee’s Rights to CSV of Life Insurance Policy and Inability to Designate a Beneficiary

$20,000 Death Benefit Exemption, Trustee’s Rights to CSV of Life Insurance Policy and Inability to Designate a Beneficiary Under the Arizona bankruptcy exemptions, debtors are entitled to “all money received by or payable to a surviving spouse or child on the life of a deceased spouse, parent or legal guardian, not exceeding twenty thousand dollars.” […]