Bankruptcy – Divorce Awards

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Timothy H. Thorpe v. Belva J. Thorpe

Case No.: 17-1766

Officials: BAUER, FLAUM, and SYKES, Circuit Judges

Focus: Bankruptcy – Divorce Awards

Timothy and Belva Thorpe married in 1986 and bought a house together in Illinois in 1987. They lived in that home until shortly after Belva filed for divorce in October 2012. Timothy then filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2013. Finally, a month later, an Illinois divorce court awarded Belva the marital home. Belva and the trustee of Timothy’s bankruptcy estate now find themselves in a years-long dispute about whether the divorce court’s award should stand.

We affirm the district court, albeit with more meat on the bones. The plain statutory text demonstrates that the bankruptcy estate took Timothy’s half-interest in the marital home subject to Belva’s contingent interest. Nothing in the Illinois Dissolution of Marriage Act or federal law suggests a contrary holding. Accordingly, the divorce court divested the estate of all rights to the marital home when it awarded the house to Belva.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.