Christians v. Dmitruk (In re Dmitruk)

Summarized by Bryan Robinson , Law Offices of Bryan Robinson
11 years 5 months ago

Citation:

Christians v. Dmitruk (In re Dmitruk), 8th Cir. B.A.P. (14-6023), September 15, 2014

Tag(s):

Ruling:

The 8th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed the order of the Bankruptcy Court overruling the Trustee’s objection to the Debtor’s claimed exemption in the portion of his state income tax refund which came from the Minnesota Education Credit, as “government assistance based on need”.

Procedural context:

The Chapter 7 Trustee appeals from the Order of the Bankruptcy Court overruling the Trustee’s objection to the Debtor’s claimed exemption in the portion of his state income tax refund. This appeal involves only one component of the claimed exemptions: the portion of the Debtor’s 2013 state income tax refund for the Minnesota K-12 Education Credit in the amount of $1,357. The Bankruptcy Court overruled the Trustee’s objection and allowed the Debtor to claim the exemption under § 550.37, subd. 14. The Chapter 7 Trustee timely appealed.

Facts:

Debtor Paul R. Dmitruk filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case on April 26, 2013. At the time of filing, the Debtor, his wife, and three minor children lived on his $1,250 monthly income and $900 monthly food stamp allowance. He chose to claim Minnesota exemptions exemptions in several separate components of his federal and state income tax refunds under § 550.37, subd. 14 of the Minnesota Statutes, as “government assistance based on need.” The Chapter 7 Trustee objected to the exemptions, some of which the Bankruptcy Court allowed, and some of which the Court denied. This appeal involves only one component of the claimed exemptions: the portion of the Debtor’s 2013 state income tax refund for the Minnesota K-12 Education Credit in the amount of $1,357.

Judge(s):

FEDERMAN, Chief Judge, SALADINO and SHODEEN, Bankruptcy Judges

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