On December 1, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act of 2014(FIBA).  The legislation passed on a voice vote and is supported by the major Wall Street banks.

All bankruptcy practitioners know that a debtor may choose which contracts to assume and which contracts to reject.  But may a debtor reject contracts that are part of an overall, integrated transaction?  In a recent bankruptcy decision, the court found the answer to be no, at least if the parties are careful in drafting their contracts.

On June 12, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Clark v. Ramekerthat an inherited individual retirement account (IRA) does not qualify for the “retirement funds” exemption in the Bankruptcy Code and is not excluded from a bankruptcy estate on that basis.