Collie Lawless v. John Newton, Jr.

OPINION

MeKEAGUE, Circuit Judge.

Tennessee law generally protects a debt- or’s assets in a retirement plan from his creditors. But that protection disappears when the debtor can accelerate his plan’s payout to receive payment as a lump sum. In this Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding, the bankruptcy court held that Collie Lawless could not protect his deferred-compensation assets because of his ability to accelerate payment from the plan. We affirm.

For over thirty-two years, Lawless has worked as an agent at Nationwide Insurance. In 1986, he executed an Agent’s Agreement with Nationwide that is…