In re Blanche Zwerdling Revocable Living Trust

531 B.R. 537, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1935, 61 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 47, 2015 WL 3643475
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedJune 11, 2015
DocketCASE NO.: 15-12920 (NLW)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 531 B.R. 537 (In re Blanche Zwerdling Revocable Living Trust) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Blanche Zwerdling Revocable Living Trust, 531 B.R. 537, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1935, 61 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 47, 2015 WL 3643475 (N.J. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

THE HONORABLE NOVALYN L. WINFIELD, BANKRUPTCY JUDGE

Before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss Debtor’s Bankruptcy Case Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 105(a) and 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b) (“Motion to Dismiss”) filed by Susan E. Champion, Esq. (“Movant” or “Champion”), a judgment creditor of the Blanche Zwerdling Revocable Living Trust (“Debt- or” or “Trust”). Joining in the Motion to Dismiss are three other judgment creditors: Linda Couso Puccio, Esq.; Tania M. Nemeth, Esq.; and Joseph A. Mecca, Esq. The Movant seeks dismissal on two grounds: (1) the Debtor is ineligible to be a debtor under 11 U.S.C. § 109(a) as the Debtor is not a business trust; and (2) the Debtor filed the petition in bad faith. Todd Trombetta, Blanche Zwerdling’s grandson and the current Trustee of the [539]*539Trust (“Todd”), opposed the Motion to Dismiss on behalf of the Debtor.

I. JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction over this contested matter arises pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(b) and 157(a) and the Standing Order of the United States District Court dated July 10, 1984, as amended October 17, 2013, referring all bankruptcy cases to the bankruptcy court. The Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A) and (0). Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1408 and 1409.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On February 20, 2015, the Debtor, by and through Todd as the current Trustee, filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code (“Bankruptcy Code”). The Debtor in this case is a trust, created on January 28, 1998 by the late Blanche Zwerdling (“Zwerdling”), as a self-settled revocable living trust. (See Verified Application of Susan E. Champion (“Champion’s Verified App.”) at ¶4, and Exhibit A attached thereto).

The Trust was funded with certain of Zwerdling’s personal assets, including various bank accounts and three (3) parcels of real property that Zwerdling owned in her own name. (Id.). The real property was comprised of: (1) an 18-unit mixed residential and commercial property located at 255 Union Avenue, Paterson, New Jersey (“Union Avenue Property”); (2) a condominium in Delray Beach, Florida (“Florida Property”), sold in 2002; and (3) a townhouse located at 109-4 Crosby Avenue, Paterson, New Jersey (“Crosby Avenue Property”). (Champion’s Verified App., Exhibit A, “Real Estate Properties Transferred into the Trust”).

Upon creating the Trust, Zwerdling was both the Trustor and sole Trustee. (Champion’s Verified App., at ¶ 5, and Exhibit A at Section 1.03). The beneficiary of the Trust is Zwerdling’s granddaughter, Cheryl Trombetta (“Cheryl”). (Champion’s Verified App. at ¶ 5, and Exhibit A at Section 3.03).

The stated purpose of the Trust is in Section 1.01: “[t]his Revocable Trust is formed to hold title to real and personal property for the benefit of the Trustor of this Trust and to provide for the orderly use and transfer of these assets upon the death of the Trustor....” (Champion’s Verified App., Exhibit A at Section 1.01). The Trust provides that:

During the life of the Trustor, should Trustor become incapacitated ... the Trastee may, in the Trustee’s absolute discretion, pay income and principal for the benefit of the incapacitated Trustor, and may pay to or apply for the benefit of that Trustor such sums from the net income and from the principal of the Estate as the Trustee, in the Trustee’s absolute discretion, believes is necessary or advisable for the medical care, comfortable maintenance, and welfare of the Trustor.

(Champion’s Verified App., Exhibit A at Section 2.02). The Trust did make distributions for Zwerdling’s and Cheryl’s personal spending, including expenses for hair salons, restaurants, medical professionals, cable television, etc. (Champion’s Verified App. at ¶ 31, and Exhibit E).

The Trust gave the Trustee specific powers, including:

a) Trust Estate — The Trustee may ' leave invested, any property coming into the hands hereunder in any form of investment, even though the investment may not be of the character of investments permitted by law to trustees, without liability for loss or depreciation in value. The Trustee may sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of and reinvest proper[540]*540ty which may at any time be part of the Trust Estate upon such terms and conditions as the Trustee deems advisable. The Trustee may invest and reinvest the Trust Assets from time to time in any property, real, personal, or mixed, including without limitation securities of domestic and foreign corporations and investment trusts or companies, bonds, debentures, preferred stocks, common stocks, mortgages, mortgage participations, and interests in common trust funds, all with complete discretion to convert realty into personalty or personalty into realty or otherwise change the character of the Trust Estate, even though such investment (by reason of its character, amount, proportion to the total Trust estate, or otherwise) would not be considered appropriate for a fiduciary apart from this provision, and even though such investment caused part or all of the total Trust Estate to be invested in investments of one type or of one business or company.
o) Continuation of Business — The Trustee may continue any business or businesses in which I have an interest at the time of my death for so long as the Trustee may, in his or her sole discretion, consider necessary or desirable, whether or not the business is conducted by me at the time of my death individually, as a partnership or as a corporation wholly owned or controlled by me, with full authority to sell, settle and discontinue any of them when and upon such terms and conditions as the Trustee may, in his or her sole discretion, consider necessary or desirable.
p) Retain Property for Personal Use— The Trustee may retain a residence or other property for the personal use of a beneficiary and to allow a beneficiary to use or occupy the retained property free of rent and maintenance expenses.

(Champion’s Verified App., Exhibit A at Section 4.03).

The record evidences that the res of the Trust stayed virtually the same since its creation, and the only “business” ever engaged in by the Trust was occasionally leasing the Crosby Avenue Property and the Florida Property and consistently leasing the commercial and residential units on the Union Avenue Property. (Champion’s Verified App. at ¶¶ 36, 39, 40, 41 and 44; and Verified Application of Todd E. Trom-betta (“Todd’s Verified App.”) at ¶¶ 6, 12, 13). While the Trustor was alive and competent, managing and leasing the Union Avenue Property was a task performed by Zwerdling herself.

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Bluebook (online)
531 B.R. 537, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1935, 61 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 47, 2015 WL 3643475, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-blanche-zwerdling-revocable-living-trust-njb-2015.