Green v. Leibowitz

In a bankruptcy case, the debtor argued on appeal that a registered retirement savings plan organized under Canadian law qualified for an exemption from his bankruptcy estate under an Illinois statute that exempted accounts intended in “good faith” to qualify as retirements plans under the Internal Revenue Code. The district court disagreed and denied the exemption. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the debtor’s account, while intended for use in his retirement, was not a tax-qualified retirement plan under the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and, as a result, did not fall under the Illinois exemption. (ST. EVE and KIRSCH, concurring)