Rhiel v. Adams (In Re Adams)

LATTA, Bankruptcy Judge,

dissenting.

I agree with the majority that the Debtors have failed to prove that their pension plans constitute trusts. In fact, I would put the matter more strongly the Debtors’ pension plans manifestly are not trusts. Because I do not believe, however, that the presence of an express trust is required to exclude an ERISA-qualified retirement plan from the assets of a bankruptcy estate, I respectfully dissent from the opinion of the majority.

With respect to statutory construction, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has instructed:

‘We read statutes and regulations with…