Opinion ID: 707566
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Benefit to the Estate

Text: 48 Before the bankruptcy court, the debtors claimed that their tax attorney, Mr. Whitley, was solely responsible for the IRS' reduction of its claim from over $200,000 to $85,000 and that Wain, Samuel's services did not benefit the estate. The bankruptcy court rejected that argument and found that Wain, Samuel's services contributed to the reduction of the tax claim and therefore benefitted the estate. In their appeal to this court, the debtors assert that all of the bankruptcy court's conclusions were incorrect, but offer no argument directed to the issue of benefit to the estate. 49 The record reveals that Wain, Samuel promptly responded to the debtors' urgent need for services, that the IRS expressed willingness to concede some of the items it was claiming on the basis of information that Wain, Samuel had prepared and provided, and that the IRS did, in fact, reduce by over half the amount of money it was seeking from the debtors. The bankruptcy court did not err in crediting Stezen's declaration that had we not completed our required and requested work, and instead abandoned our client, these savings would not have been obtained. The record supports the conclusion that Wain, Samuel's services significantly benefitted the estate by aiding in the preservation of the estate's assets. See Larson v. United States Trustee (In re Larson), 174 B.R. 797, 802 (9th Cir. BAP 1994).