In re: LISA GAY MELLEM v. CARL J. MELLEM, Successor Trustee of the Dorothy B. Mellem Revocable Trust

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
In re: LISA GAY MELLEM,
Debtor,
------------------------------
LISA GAY MELLEM,
Appellant,
v.
CARL J. MELLEM, Successor Trustee of
the Dorothy B. Mellem Revocable Trust,
Appellee
No. 21-60020
BAP No. 20-1174
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the Ninth Circuit
Bankruptcy Appellate Panel
Klein, Taylor, and Gan, Bankruptcy Judges, Presiding
Argued and Submitted November 18, 2021
San Francisco, California
Before: SCHROEDER, W. FLETCHER, and MILLER, Circuit Judges.
FILED
NOV 26 2021
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

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The appellant, Lisa Mellem, appeals the judgment of the Bankruptcy
Appellate Panel in appellant’s ongoing efforts to obtain $75,000 from the estate of
her mother. The BAP ruled that, even if Lisa treated the funds as a loan that was
discharged in appellant’s bankruptcy proceeding, her mother was nevertheless free
to treat the $75,000 as an advance on the appellant’s inheritance. In re Mellem,
625 B.R. 172 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2021). The state probate court held that the mother
intended such an advance. The bankruptcy court could not overrule that state court
decision. Neither can we. The Bankruptcy Code prohibits an act to collect a debt
that has been discharged as a personal liability of the debtor. See 11 U.S.C. §
524(a)(2). An advance on an inheritance does not constitute such a personal
liability. The BAP, therefore, correctly recognized that an advance is not a loan
that can be discharged in bankruptcy proceedings.
The motion to proceed in forma pauperis is denied as moot because Lisa
Mellem paid the filing fee.
AFFIRMED.
2

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