Bankr. E.D.N.C.: In re Napoleon- Assigned Insurance Proceeds not an Asset of the Bankruptcy Estate

Summary: Separately, both Mr. and Ms. Napoleon signed assignments of insurance proceeds to Bio-Medical for kidney dialysis treatment Ms. Napoleon received. After litigation over the amounts owed and distribution of pre-petition insurance proceeds, the Napoleons filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy and subsequently received addition insurance checks ad amended their exemptions to claim $4,999.00 under Mr. Napoleon’s wildcard. Bio-Medical objected. Relying largely on In re Helms, 467 B.R. 374 (Bankr. W.D.N.C. 2012), the court held that assigned insurance proceeds are not part of a Debtor’s bankruptcy estate and accordingly could not be exempted. Commentary: Insert your Battle of Waterloo jokes below. Given that Bio-Medical’s counsel was located in Winston-Salem and the Napoleon’s live in High Point, it is not unreasonable to speculate why Bio-Medical did not seek a change of venue to the Middle District. For a copy of the opinion, please see: Napoleon- Assigned Insurance Proceeds not an Asset of the Bankruptcy Estate