Matter of Zumbrun

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

Until recently amended, Indiana’s statutes exempting property from execution protected all of a debtor’s funds held in retirement accounts regardless of the value. We hold that such an open-ended exemption of intangible assets is contrary to Article 1, Section 22 of the Indiana Constitution.

This case is before us as a certified question from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division. Brian Lee Zumbrun and Judy Kay Zumbrun were debtors in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy action in the Bankruptcy Court for the Fort Wayne Division.…