04/12/1994 01:40 PM Senate L&C

 SENATOR KELLY announced  HB 439  (UNIFORM FRAUDULENT TRANSFER ACT) to    to   
 be up for consideration.                                                      
                                                                               
 DANIELLA LOPER, Legislative Aide to Representative Brian Porter,              
 said that HB 439 is the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA).               
 Current law says if a transfer is fraudulent the plaintiff bears              
 the burden of proof which is difficult.  UFTA would eliminate the             
 present Alaska necessity of finding actual intent of a property               
 transfer to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor in many situations           
 where transfers are obviously transferring assets solely to keep              
 them out of reach of the transferrer's creditors.  It establishes             
 three basic criteria that need to be met to prove fraudulent                  
 transfer.                                                                     
                                                                               
 MARY ELLEN BEARDSLY, Assistant Attorney General, said this bill is            
 beneficial because it makes it easier for creditors and harder for            
 debtors to do what they have been doing.                                      
                                                                               
 SENATOR RIEGER asked her to explain on page 2, lines 28 and 29 the            
 words: "assets of a debtor are unreasonably small in relation to a            
 business or transaction."                                                     
                                                                               
 MS. BEARDSLY explained that means a situation where the debtor                
 sells his assets to avoid paying his current debts.                           
                                                                               
 SENATOR LINCOLN asked how this bill protected individuals (the                
 innocent party) who are in a partnership.  MS. BEARDSLEY answered             
 that she didn't know how to answer that question, but she said                
 there are defenses in this act in situations where the transferee             
 is a relative of the debtor.  The creditor does not have a straight           
 shot at this, but it would be a little easier.                                
                                                                               
 Number 334                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR SHARP moved to pass HB 439 with individual recommendations.           
 There were no objections and it was so ordered.