In Re: Jerald E. Brucher, Debtor. Darrell R. Dettmann, Chapter 7 Trustee v. Jerald E. Brucher

OPINION

DAVID A. NELSON, Circuit Judge.

The sole question presented in this appeal is whether an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) can be excluded from a bankruptcy estate (or “exempted,” to use the statutory term) pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(10)(E). Following the reasoning of three other courts of appeals, we answer the question “yes.”

I

The facts are straightforward. The debtor, Jerald Brucher, filed a bankruptcy petition under Chapter 7 of the Code. One of his assets was an IRA valued at $7,900. He claimed an exemption for $6,880 of that amount under 11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(5) and an exemption…