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CourtListener opinion 4321269

Date unknown · US

Extracted case name
pending
Extracted reporter citation
134 S. Ct. 2242
Docket / number
pending
QDRO relevance 5/5Retirement relevance 5/5Family-law relevance 5/5gold label pending
Research-use warning: This page contains machine-draft public annotations generated from public opinion text. The headnote is not Willie-approved gold-label work product and is not legal advice. Verify the full opinion and current law before relying on it.

Machine-draft headnote

Machine-draft public headnote: CourtListener opinion 4321269 is included in the LexyCorpus QDRO sample set as a public CourtListener opinion with relevance to ERISA / defined contribution issues. The current annotation is conservative: it identifies source provenance, relevance signals, and evidence quotes for attorney/agent retrieval. It is not a Willie-approved legal headnote yet.

Retrieval annotation

Draft retrieval summary: this opinion has QDRO relevance score 5/5, retirement-division score 5/5, and family-law score 5/5. Use the quoted text and full opinion below before relying on the case.

Category: ERISA / defined contribution issues

Evidence quotes

QDRO

a. The state court's order dissolving the marriage adopted the parties' stipulated property settlement which awarded Lerbakken one-half of the value in his ex-wife's Wells Fargo 401K and an entire IRA account (Accounts). The order directed counsel to submit a Qualified Domestic Relations Order related to these assets. Based upon the available record, the briefing and representations of counsel this was not accomplished and Lerbakken has undertaken no other action to obtain title or possession of the accounts. Lerbakken filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition on January 23, 2018. His Schedule C claimed the Accounts as exempt retirement funds for th

retirement benefits

e to "retirement funds" is therefore properly understood to mean sums of money set aside for the day an individual stops working. Id. at 2246. The opinion clearly suggests that the exemption is limited to individuals who create and contribute funds into the retirement account. Retirement funds obtained or received by any other means do not meet this definition. In an attempt to meet the standard enunciated in Clark, Lerbakken asserts the 401K and IRA represent marital property that his ex-wife saved for their joint retirement. He further states that he intends to use the proceeds of the Accounts for support upon his retirement

ERISA

that his interest in the Accounts satisfies this statutory definition because the proceeds are not taxable to his ex-wife and this status inures to his benefit. The parties supply extensive arguments related to the potential tax consequences, penalties and ERISA provisions applicable to the Accounts. Standing alone, these issues are not dispositive of their exempt status. 11 U.S.C. §522(d)(12) contains two requirements: (1) that the amount must be retirement funds; and (2) that the retirement funds must be in an account that is exempt from taxation under one of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code set forth

401(k)

16, 2018 ____________ Before SCHERMER, NAIL and SHODEEN, Bankruptcy Judges. ____________ SHODEEN, Bankruptcy Judge, The Debtor, Brian Lerbakken, appeals the bankruptcy court's1 Order dated May 29, 2018 disallowing his claimed exemptions in a Wells Fargo 401K and an IRA account. BACKGROUND In September 2014 Lerbakken retained Sieloff & Associates, P. A. (Sieloff) to represent him in his divorce proceeding in Lake County, Minnesota. The state court's order dissolving the marriage adopted the parties' stipulated property settlement which awarded Lerbakken one-half of the value in his ex-wife's Wells Fargo 401K

Source and provenance

Source type
courtlistener_qdro_opinion_full_text
Permissions posture
public
Generated status
machine draft public v0
Review status
gold label pending
Jurisdiction metadata
US
Deterministic extraction
reporter: 134 S. Ct. 2242
Generated at
May 14, 2026

Related public corpus pages

Deterministic links based on shared title/citation terms and QDRO / retirement / family-law retrieval scores.

Clean opinion text

United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel
 For the Eighth Circuit
 ___________________________

 No. 18-6018
 ___________________________

 In re: Brian A. Lerbakken

 Debtor.

 ------------------------------

 Brian A. Lerbakken

 Debtor – Appellant,

 v.

 Sieloff and Associates, P.A.

 Interested Party - Appellee

 ____________

 Appeal from United States Bankruptcy Court
 for the District of Minnesota - Duluth
 ____________

 Submitted: September 21, 2018
 Filed: October 16, 2018
 ____________

Before SCHERMER, NAIL and SHODEEN, Bankruptcy Judges.
 ____________

SHODEEN, Bankruptcy Judge,
 The Debtor, Brian Lerbakken, appeals the bankruptcy court's1 Order dated
May 29, 2018 disallowing his claimed exemptions in a Wells Fargo 401K and an
IRA account.

 BACKGROUND
 In September 2014 Lerbakken retained Sieloff & Associates, P. A. (Sieloff)
to represent him in his divorce proceeding in Lake County, Minnesota. The state
court's order dissolving the marriage adopted the parties' stipulated property
settlement which awarded Lerbakken one-half of the value in his ex-wife's Wells
Fargo 401K and an entire IRA account (Accounts). The order directed counsel to
submit a Qualified Domestic Relations Order related to these assets. Based upon
the available record, the briefing and representations of counsel this was not
accomplished and Lerbakken has undertaken no other action to obtain title or
possession of the accounts.

 Lerbakken filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition on January 23, 2018. His
Schedule C claimed the Accounts as exempt retirement funds for the values agreed
to under the property settlement. Sieloff was listed as a creditor for its unpaid fees.
It objected to Lebarkken's claim of exemption in the Accounts. The bankruptcy
court disallowed the exemption on the basis that the Accounts were not retirement
funds as defined by Clark v. Rameker, 134 S. Ct. 2242 (2014). This appeal
followed.

1
 The Honorable Robert J. Kressel, Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court for the
District of Minnesota.
 2
 STANDARD OF REVIEW
 Whether Lerbakken is entitled to claim of an exemption in the Accounts
presents a question of law which is subject to de novo review. Rucker v. Belew (In
re Belew), 588 B.R, 875, 876 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2018).

 DISCUSSION
 As permitted, Lerbakken elected to use federal law in support of his claim of
exemption in the identified Accounts. Whether a claim of exemption is proper
begins with the relevant statutory authority which states: "Retirement funds to the
extent that those funds are in a fund or account that is exempt from taxation under
section 401, 403, 408, 408A, 414, 457, or 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986." 11 U.S.C. §522(d)(12)(2018).2 Lerbakken contends that his interest in the
Accounts satisfies this statutory definition because the proceeds are not taxable to
his ex-wife and this status inures to his benefit.

 The parties supply extensive arguments related to the potential tax
consequences, penalties and ERISA provisions applicable to the Accounts.
Standing alone, these issues are not dispositive of their exempt status. 11 U.S.C.
§522(d)(12) contains two requirements: (1) that the amount must be retirement
funds; and (2) that the retirement funds must be in an account that is exempt from
taxation under one of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code set forth therein.
Rice v. Allard (In re Rice), 478 B.R. 275, 280 (E.D. Mich. 2012). In order for the
Accounts to be exempt both of these elements must be established.

2
 The Debtor identifies 11 U.S.C. §522(b)(3)(C) in support of the exemptions. That
provision contains language identical to 11 U.S.C. §522(d)(12) but does not
actually grant the exemption.
 3
 In Clark v. Rameker, 134 S. Ct. 2242 (2014) the Supreme Court considered
whether an inherited IRA qualified as a retirement fund for purposes of exemption
under federal law. The Court's unanimous ruling first addressed the definition of
retirement funds.
 The Bankruptcy Code does not define "retirement funds," so we
 give the term its ordinary meaning. The ordinary meaning of
 "fund[s]" is "sum[s] of money . . . set aside for a specific purpose."
 And "retirement" means "[w]ithdrawal from one's occupation,
 business, or office." Section 522(b)(3)(C)'s reference to
 "retirement funds" is therefore properly understood to mean sums
 of money set aside for the day an individual stops working.
Id. at 2246. The opinion clearly suggests that the exemption is limited to
individuals who create and contribute funds into the retirement account.
Retirement funds obtained or received by any other means do not meet this
definition.

 In an attempt to meet the standard enunciated in Clark, Lerbakken asserts
the 401K and IRA represent marital property that his ex-wife saved for their joint
retirement. He further states that he intends to use the proceeds of the Accounts for
support upon his retirement. Courts are not required to address these subjective
considerations in determining the exemption issue.

 To determine whether funds in an account qualify as
 "retirement funds," courts should not engage in a case-
 by-case, fact-intensive examination into whether the
 debtor actually planned to use the funds for retirement
 purposes as opposed to current consumption. Instead,
 [Courts should] look to the legal characteristics of the
 account in which the funds are held, asking whether, as
 an objective matter, the account is one set aside for the
 day when an individual stops working.
Id. (emphasis added).

 4
 We recognize that Lerbakken's interest in the 401K and IRA did not arise in
the identical manner as the IRA account addressed in Clark. This distinction is not
material to our de novo review. Any interest he holds in the Accounts resulted
from nothing more than a property settlement. Applying the reasoning of Clark
the 401K and IRA accounts are not retirement funds which qualify as exempt
under federal law.

 The bankruptcy court's Order is AFFIRMED.
 _________________________

 5