In Re Archer

¶1 In this case, we address a question certified to us pursuant to Rule 44, M.R.App.P., by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Montana. The question is:

May a debtor claim an exemption pursuant to § 25-13-608(1)(f), MCA, in proceeds from the sale of shares of stock in a business under an agreement to sell such stock, as exempt “benefits,” when such proceeds are used exclusively to pay for the debtor’s end-of-life medical, surgical or hospital care and medications?

For the reasons set forth below, we answer the question “no.”

BACKGROUND

¶2 The following factual background is…