Opinion ID: 3026139
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of review

Text: The appellate court reviews a bankruptcy court’s conclusions of law de novo and its findings of fact for clear error. See Merchants Nat’l Bank of Winona v. Moen (In re Moen), 238 B.R. 785, 790 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 1999); Bachman v. Laughlin (In re McKeeman), 236 B.R. 667, 670 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 3 1999). This case involves review of the bankruptcy court’s conclusions of law, specifically, what constitutes property of the estate within the meaning of § 541(a)(5)(B). Since state law governs the nature and extent of a debtor’s interest in property, we also review de novo the bankruptcy court’s determinations of Nebraska law in this case. See O’Neal v. Southwest Missouri Bank of Carthage (In re Broadview Lumber Co., Inc.), 118 F.3d 1246, 1250 (8th Cir. 1997) (citing Nangle v. Laurer (In re Laurer), 98 F.3d 378, 382 (8th Cir. 1996) (citing Salve Regina College v. Russell, 499 U.S. 225, 231 (1991)); see also Simmonds v. Larison (In re Simmonds), 240 B.R. 897, 898 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 1999) (“We review the bankruptcy court’s conclusions of law and determination of state law de novo.”).