Safanda v. Castellano (In re Castellano)

514 B.R. 555
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 6, 2014
DocketBankruptcy No. 11 B 46854; Adversary No. 13 A 01257
StatusPublished

This text of 514 B.R. 555 (Safanda v. Castellano (In re Castellano)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Safanda v. Castellano (In re Castellano), 514 B.R. 555 (Ill. 2014).

Opinion

PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

DONALD R. CASSLING, Bankruptcy Judge.

On February 18, 1997, Faith F. Campbell (“Ms. Campbell”) created the Faith F. Campbell Living Trust dated February 18, 1997 (the “Living Trust”). (Pl.Ex. No. 1.) The Living Trust provided that, upon her death, the assets in the Living Trust would be divided equally among her four children, one of whom is the Debtor in this proceeding. (Id. at § 9.01.) The Living Trust also contained a spendthrift clause (the “Spendthrift Provision”) intended to [557]*557shield the Living Trust’s assets from seizure by her children’s creditors. The wording of the Spendthrift Provision and its application to the Debtor in this proceeding are the focus of this Opinion. The Debtor claims that her one-quarter share of the Living Trust’s assets is protected from her creditors by operation of the Spendthrift Provision. The Chapter 7 Trustee argues that the Debtor’s share of the assets should be seized for the benefit of her creditors under a rarely-discussed section of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 548(e). Based upon the evidence introduced at trial and the Court’s interpretation of § 548(e), the Court agrees with the Chapter 7 Trustee’s position.

JURISDICTIONAL AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE OF THIS PROCEEDING

This matter is before the Court on a two-count complaint (the “Complaint”) filed by Roy Safanda, the Chapter 7 Trustee (the “Chapter 7 Trustee”), against Linda K. Castellano (the “Debtor”) and J.T. Del Alcazar, as successor trustee of the Living Trust (the “Spendthrift Trustee”). The Complaint seeks, first, to avoid alleged fraudulent transfers under 11 U.S.C. § 548(e) and, second, turnover of assets under 11 U.S.C. §§ 543 and 550. As discussed below, the Court finds in favor of the Chapter 7 Trustee under both counts of the Complaint.

The Court has jurisdiction over this proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and Internal Operating Procedure 15(a) of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Under the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Exec. Benefits Ins. Agency v. Arkison, — U.S. -, 134 S.Ct. 2165, 189 L.Ed.2d 83 (2014), the Court will treat the fraudulent conveyance count as if it were a noncore matter, even though 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(H) lists fraudulent conveyance actions as core proceedings. As authorized by the Supreme Court in Arki-son, the Court will issue its Opinion in the form of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. To the extent a conclusion of law is improperly characterized as a finding of fact, it should be considered a conclusion of law. To the extent a finding of fact is improperly characterized as a conclusion of law, it should be considered a finding of fact. See In re Piper’s Alley Co., 69 B.R. 382, 384 (N.D.Ill.1987).

FACTS AND BACKGROUND

Ms. Campbell died on February 11, 2011. As of October 31, 2011, the Living Trust held approximately $1.8 million in assets, not including the value of a cabin in Wisconsin. (See Pl.Ex. No. 6, Schedule of Assets Distributed.)

The Living Trust named the Debtor and her three siblings as equal beneficiaries and provided that “[u]pon the death of Faith F. Campbell and upon settlement of her estate, the Trustee shall divide and distribute as a class gift, free of Trust, the remaining [Living] Trust Estate.” (Pl.Ex. No. 1, § 9.01.) Section 8.01 of the Living Trust further stated that, “[u]pon the death of Faith F. Campbell and upon settlement of her estate, this [Living] Trust shall terminate.” The Living Trust was created in South Carolina, where Ms. Campbell resided. {Id. at § 8.01.)

Upon the death of Ms. Campbell, Bank of America, N.A.1 was initially appointed as trustee of the Living Trust. Bank of America declined the appointment. (PI. Ex. No. 2.) In March 2011, the Debtor and her siblings appointed the current Spend[558]*558thrift Trustee as successor trustee. (PL Ex. No. 5.)

The Spendthrift Trustee is the husband of the Debtor’s niece and is therefore related by marriage to all of the beneficiaries of the Living Trust, including the Debtor. No party claims that the Spendthrift Trustee is a disinterested party. No court appointed the Spendthrift Trustee to his position as successor trustee, no court supervises the exercise of his discretion under the Living Trust, and the Spendthrift Trustee has never been asked or required by any court or other agency to account for his handling of the Living Trust assets. (Pretrial Stmt., p. 15 at ¶¶ 19-20.)

The Living Trust contains the following Spendthrift Provision in § 10.03:

If any beneficiary should attempt to alienate, encumber, or dispose of all or any part of the income or principal of this [Living] Trust before it has been delivered by the [Spendthrift] Trustee, or if by reason of bankruptcy or insolvency or any attempted execution, levy, attachment, or seizure of any assets remaining in the hands of the [Spendthrift] Trustee under claims of creditors or otherwise, all or any part of the income or principal might fail to be enjoyed by any beneficiary or might vest in or be enjoyed by some other person, then the interest of that beneficiary shall immediately terminate Thereafter, the [Spendthrift] Trustee shall pay to or for the benefit of that beneficiary only those amounts that the [Spendthrift] Trustee, in its sole and absolute discretion, deems advisable for the education and support of that beneficiary until the death of the beneficiary or the maximum period permissible under the South Carolina rule against perpetuities, whichever first occurs.

(Pl.Ex. No. 1) (emphasis added).

By letter dated October 5, 2011 (the “Insolvency Letter”), the Debtor’s attorney informed the Spendthrift Trustee’s counsel that the Debtor was insolvent and issued him the following mandate:

I am writing to you in relation to section 10.03 of the [Living] [T]trust [the Spendthrift Provision], to advise you that my client [the Debtor] and her husband have experienced insolvency due to the recession. They have closed their business and are filing for bankruptcy protection. [The Debtor] considers that it is the [Spendthrift] [TJrustee’s obligation to exercise his authority consistent with the provisions of the [Living] [T]trust identified above [i.e., § 10.03].

(Pl.Ex. No. 9) (emphasis added).

At trial, the Spendthrift Trustee testified that after he received the Insolvency Letter, he opened up a separate Merrill Lynch account, named the “Faith F. Campbell Spendthrift Trust f/b/o Linda Castellano,” into which he deposited the Debtor’s one-quarter share of the Living Trust assets. (Pl.Ex. No. 6, Schedule of Assets Distributed) (emphasis added).

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Related

Grogan v. Garner
498 U.S. 279 (Supreme Court, 1991)
In Re Piper's Alley Co.
69 B.R. 382 (N.D. Illinois, 1987)
Western Wire Works, Inc. v. Lawler (In Re Lawler)
141 B.R. 425 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Helms v. Roti (In Re Roti)
271 B.R. 281 (N.D. Illinois, 2002)
Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison
134 S. Ct. 2165 (Supreme Court, 2014)
In re Sentinel Management Group, Inc.
728 F.3d 660 (Seventh Circuit, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
514 B.R. 555, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/safanda-v-castellano-in-re-castellano-ilnb-2014.