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National banks are to be wound up under and entirely governed by the national banking law; and state banks by the banking laws of the state in which they are incorporated.

Unincorporated bankers may be voluntary or involuntary bankrupts.

Sec. 28.

B. In Respect to Legal Status.

CORPORATIONS. Corporations, except as noted, may be made voluntary or involuntary bankrupts.

From the viewpoint of the question as to nature of business or occupation, we have already considered the corporation as a bankrupt and found that with the exceptions noted, it may be proceeded against or voluntarily file a petition in bankruptcy.

Sec. 29. PARTNERS AND PARTNERSHIPS. A partnership and any partner therein may file a petition in bankruptcy or be proceeded against by creditors.

Some little consideration is given in the Act to the cases of partners and partnership.42 The Act provides: "A partnership, during the continuation of the partnership business, or after its dissolution and before the final settlement thereof, may be adjudged a bankrupt." Also, "In the event of one or more, but not all of the members of a partnership being adjudged bankrupt, the partnership property shall not be administered in bankruptcy, unless by the consent of the partner or partners not adjudged bankrupt, but such partner or partners not adjudged bankrupt shall set

42. Bankr. Act, 1898, Sec. 5; General Orders in Bankruptcy, No. VIII.

tle the partnership business as expeditiously as its nature will permit and account for the interest of the partner or partners adjudged bankrupt."48

The Act has made the partnership an entity to the extent of allowing the partnership as such to be adjudged a bankrupt without the individual members. being so adjudged.44 A recent decision of the Spreme Court has, however, decided that "ordinarily it would be impossible that a firm should be insolvent while the members of it remained able to pay its debts with money available to that end. A judgment could be got and the partnership debt satisfied on execution out of the individual assets if, as in the

present case, the partnership and individual estates together are not enough to pay the partnership debts, the rational thing to do, and one certainly not forbidden by the law, is to administer both in bankruptcy."45

A partner merely "by estoppel" cannot be included in a petition against the firm.46

As a matter of practice it has been said "The better practice is to file a separate petition i. e., one for the partnership and one for each partner who desires to go through bankruptcy."47

43. See also the other provisions of Sec. 5, Appendix A, post.

44. In re Hansley & Adams (D. C. Cal. 1910) 228 Fed. 564.

45.

46.

Francis v. McNeal, 228 U. S. 695.

In re Lenois-Cross & Co., (D. C., Tenn.) 226 Fed. 227. 47. In re Hansley & Adams, (D. C., Cai.) 228 Fed. 564.

It is also well settled that one partner can petition to have the partnership adjudged a bankrupt.48

Sec. 30. MINORS. Á minor cannot be a bankrupt except perhaps in respect to debts legally binding upon him.

As a general rule we may say that a minor cannot file a petition in bankruptcy or be proceeded against. His debts are voidable; and hence his creditors cannot hold him in bankruptcy and he does not need the il of a bankruptcy court in order to avoid his debts. Bankruptcy proceedings therefore appear to be useless.49 But for his necessaries he is liable and in some states he trades as an adult he is liable for debts so created. So judgment may be had against him for his torts. It would seem that bankruptcy ought to be proper procedure in such cases; but there is very little law in the books in this respect.

Sec. 31. INSANE PERSONS. An insane person cannot be made a bankrupt. If he becomes insane after adjudication and while the proceedings are pending this will not abate the procedings.

An insane person cannot commit an act of bankruptcy or be made a bankrupt in an involuntary proceeding and certainly he is not a proper person to file a petition. If after the petition is filed and the adjudication entered he becomes insane, the proceedings will not abate.50

48. Id.

49. In re Duiguid, (D. C., N. C.) 100 Fed. 274; In re Dunnigan Bros. (D. C., Mass.) 95 Fed. 428.

50. In re Kehler, 153 Fed. 235.

Sec. 32. ESTATES OF DECEASED PERSONS. The estate of a deceased person, though insolvent, cannot be taken into a Court of Bankruptcy. It is to be administered in the usual way in the Court of Probate.

An insolvent estate of a decedent is to be administered and wound up as other estates, that is, in a Court of Probate. But where a person is adjudicated a bankrupt and dies while the proceedings are still pending, the estate will continue to be administered by the bankruptcy court.

Sec. 33. ALIENS. An alien who resides or is domiciled or has a place of business, or property in the United States, may file a petition in bankruptcy or have a petition filed against him.

An alien may be a bankrupt under our law provided he lives, has a place of business, or owns property here.51 Debts, however, owing to persons not citizens of the United States are not affected by his bankruptcy.

C. In Respect to Amount of Indebtedness.

Sec. 34. VOLUNTARY BANKRUPTCY. One who owes debts of any amount whatever may be a voluntary bankrupt.

There is no limitation in the law as to amount of indebtedness which a voluntary bankrupt must owe.52

Sec. 35. INVOLUNTARY BANKRUPTCY. Involuntary bankruptcy proceedings require that the bankrupt owe $1000 or over.

51. In re Borthoud, (D. C., N. Y.) 231 Fed. 529. 52.

Bankr. Act, 1898, Sec. 4a.

A debtor cannot be made a bankrupt unless his indebtedness is $1000 or over. The petitioning creditors must have claims aggregating $500 and this sometimes confuses one into the belief that that is the amount which the bankrupt must owe. But he must owe $1000.53

53. Id., Sec. 4b.

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