23 B 16481
During a contempt hearing in state domestic relations court regarding turnover of property awarded to his ex-wife (“Kerry”), the ex-husband (“Marty”) filed for relief under chapter 7.  The state court continued with the contempt hearing and remanded Marty to jail.  Marty filed a motion to enforce in bankruptcy court, requesting a finding that the contempt proceeding and incarceration order violated the automatic stay.  Kerry filed a competing motion to clarify that the stay did not apply to the proceedings.  HELD:  Although the contempt proceeding was part of Kerry’s efforts to collect a prepetition debt, collection of a domestic support obligation from property that is not property of the estate is excepted from the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(2)(B).  “Collection” is not limited to the receipt of a voluntary payment.  After consideration of the split in the case law, the court held that “collection” includes enforcement.  This holding is also supported by the legislative history and principles of statutory construction.  Additionally, Kerry was not seeking to collect from property of Marty’s bankruptcy estate.  The state court had already divided the marital property, and once that had been accomplished, Marty’s contingent interest in the property awarded to Kerry disappeared.  Therefore, the property she sought to collect did not became property of the estate upon the filing of Marty’s bankruptcy petition.  The court denied Marty’s motion to enforce and granted Kerry’s motion to clarify, in part.