Opinion
Case No. 17-51257
2023-01-11
IN RE: Roscoe SULTON, and Leora Sulton, Debtors.
Paul B. Gigliotti, Douglas P. Chimenti, Nicholas R. Glaeser, Gigliotti & Associates, P.C., Clinton Township, Michigan, Attorneys for the Debtors. Tammy L. Terry, Detroit, Michigan, Chapter 13 Trustee.
Paul B. Gigliotti, Douglas P. Chimenti, Nicholas R. Glaeser, Gigliotti & Associates, P.C., Clinton Township, Michigan, Attorneys for the Debtors.
Tammy L. Terry, Detroit, Michigan, Chapter 13 Trustee.
ORDER DENYING, WITHOUT PREJUDICE, MOTION TO EXCUSE REQUIREMENT REGARDING DOMESTIC SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS FOR DECEASED DEBTOR
Thomas J. Tucker, United States Bankruptcy Judge
This case is before the Court on the motion entitled "Debtors’ Motion to Excuse Requirement From Domestic Support Obligations for Debtor Only" (Docket # 73, the "Motion"). The Motion seeks an order excusing the Debtor Roscoe Sulton "from the requirement under L.B.R. 4004-1 to file a completed Certification Regarding Domestic Support Obligations." The Motion states that the Debtor Roscoe Sulton died on October 4, 2019.
See Ex. 1 to Mot. (Docket # 73) (proposed "Order on Motion to Excuse Requirement from Domestic Support Obligations for Debtor Only").
See "Debtors’ Motion to Excuse Requirement from Domestic Support Obligations for Debtor Only" (Docket # 73) at ¶¶ 4, 7; Ex. 4 to Mot. ("Certificate of Death" of Roscoe Sulton).
The Motion must be denied, because it was not filed by or on behalf of anyone with standing to seek the relief sought. The Motion was purportedly filed by the Debtors. But the Debtor Roscoe Sulton is deceased and the Motion does not show that the Debtor Leora Sulton or her attorney has standing or authority to file a motion on behalf of the deceased Debtor.
Only a personal representative duly appointed by the probate court under the laws of the State of Michigan may file a motion seeking relief on behalf of the deceased Debtor, Roscoe Sulton. See In re Beach , No. 20-47886, 2022 WL 1446748 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. May 6, 2022) ; In re Pack , 634 B.R. 738, 739 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2021) ; In re Hamilton , 274 B.R. 266, 267 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2001) (citing In re Lucio, 251 B.R. 705, 708-09 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2000) ) ("[W]hen a debtor dies, the only person who can then appear on the debtor's behalf is the person so named as the official representative of the probate estate of the debtor."); Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 700.3103 (stating, in relevant part, that "[e]xcept as otherwise provided in article IV, to acquire the powers and undertake the duties and liabilities of a decedent's personal representative, a person must be appointed by the register or by court order, must qualify, and must be issued letters"); Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 700.3703(3) (stating that "[e]xcept as to a proceeding that does not survive the decedent's death, a personal representative of a decedent domiciled in this state at death has the same standing to sue and be sued in the courts of this state and the courts of another jurisdiction as the decedent had immediately prior to death").
The Motion does not allege or demonstrate that Leora Sulton is the personal representative of the deceased Debtor Roscoe Sulton.
For these reasons,
IT IS ORDERED that the Motion (Docket # 73) is denied.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order is without prejudice to the right of a duly appointed personal representative of the deceased Debtor to file a motion seeking the same relief that was sought by the present Motion. The Court expresses no view, at this time, about the merits of any such potential future motion.