Treatment of Non-Spousal Inherited IRAs in Bankruptcy

By: Kimberly Tracey

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

In In re Clark, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit adopted a new approach to the treatment of non-spousal inherited IRAs in bankruptcy cases.  The court reversed the decision of the District Court and foundthat a debtor could not exempt a non-spousal inherited IRA.[1]  In Clark the debtor sought to exempt an IRA she inherited from creditors’ claims under section 522(b)(3)(C) and (d)(12) of the Bankruptcy Code.[2]  The bankruptcy court held that the inherited IRA was not exempt because the account did not represent retirement funds in the hands of the debtor.[3]  The district court reversed, adopting the view that since the inherited IRA constituted “retirement funds” in the debtor’s mother’s hands, the account must be treated the same way in the debtor’s hands.[4]  Reversing the district court, the Seventh Circuit distinguished a non-spousal inherited IRA as “a time-limited tax-deferral vehicle, but not a place to hold wealth for use after the new owner's retirement.”[5]  Specifically, the Seventh Circuit noted that under the Internal Revenue Code, a non-spousal inherited IRA is subject to mandatory distribution that must begin within a year of the original owner’s death and be completed in no less than five years.[6]  Furthermore, no new contributions may be made to the account.[7]  Consequently, the Seventh Circuit opined that the non-spousal inherited IRA was not a “retirement fund” under the Bankruptcy Code in the hands of the debtor, and as a result, the court held that the non-spousal inherited IRA was not exempt.[8]  In reaching such a holding, the Court declared that “to treat this account as exempt under [section]522(b)(3)(C) and (d)(12) [of the Bankruptcy Code] would [allow the debtor] to shelter from creditors a pot of money that can be freely used for current consumption.”[9] 

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