In re Thurman

MEMORANDUM

KEITH M. LUNDIN, Bankruptcy Judge.

The issue is whether Tennessee law permits an exemption in the cash surrender value of an insurance policy on the life of the debtor where the beneficiary is the debtor’s sole proprietorship. The debtor may not exempt the insurance policy.

I

In 1979, Marion Thurman Builder, a sole proprietorship, purchased an insurance policy on the life of Marion Thurman, naming *100“Marion Thurman Builder” as the beneficiary.

Marion Thurman became a Chapter 7 debtor in 1990. The debtor asserts an exemption in the now substantial cash surrender value of the life insurance…