10 B 44866, 13 A 01048
Petitioners, as trustees for a family trust created by the debtor, move for abstention or remand of an Illinois state court proceeding to dissolve the family trust that had been previously removed to this court by the chapter 7 trustee. The chapter 7 trustee, in turn, seeks a determination from this court that the state court proceeding is void, as the proceeding was commenced after the commencement of the bankruptcy case and without relief from the automatic stay. Held: While the dissolution of a trust against which an estate has a claim may not violate the automatic stay, per se, under the facts of this case, a stay violation did occur. While the state court, not this court, is the proper tribunal with authority to order the dissolution of the family trust, the state court proceeding is invalid as having been commenced in violation of the automatic stay and the request for abstention or remand is therefore moot.