Discussion:
Andres Soza and his spouse transferred $30,000 into an annuity fund on October 13, 2005. The Sozas fi led a Chapter 7 petition for bankruptcy the following day. The Sozas claimed the annuity was exempt from inclusion in the bankruptcy estate. The money to purchase the annuity came from an inheritance. The Sozas purchased the annuity to safeguard the inheritance from creditors pending a determination of how the proceeds were to be distributed to Soza and his siblings. The Sozas further claimed that the annuity was exempt pursuant to provisions of the Texas Insurance Code. The trustee objected to the exemption claim and alleged that the conversion of nonexempt property into an exempt annuity on the eve of bankruptcy amounted to fraud detrimental to the creditors expressly prohibited by the Code. The court was required to determine whether the Code prevented actual as well as constructive fraud by a debtor to the detriment of a creditor. The court focused its attention on the presence or absence of several badges of fraud. What is a badge of fraud? What type of conduct should be considered indicative of fraud in the context of bankruptcy proceedings?