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Pioneer Pierce County Resident in Bankruptcy
Following the closing of the Citizens State Bank of Pierce last year, Matthew Inhelder of that city, 84 years of age and a respected pioneer of this county, has found his holdings in a tangled state that prompted E. H. Luikhart of the state banking department to file involuntary k proceelings against him in the federal court at Norfolk. The first meeting of the creditors was held last week. Raymond Dutcher was named as trustee for Mr. Inhelder. Because of his advanced age Mr. Inhelder was not able to be present at the hearing. Acting under orders issued by Referee Lear, Mr. Inhelder, who has been actively identified with a number of Pierce county banks for many years, recently filed bankruptcy schedules showing debts totaling $93300 and assets alleged to be worth $48,800. The assets, however, represent chiefly real estate, all of which is mortgaged. Considerable interest in the Inhelder proceedings has developed in this county since Edward H. Luikhart, receiver of the defunct Citizens State bank of Pierce, in which Inhelder was interested, filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition a number of weeks ago. Inhelder filed a denial but when the case came up for trial in federal court Sept. 19 he changed his pleading and admitted that he was insolvent. The court then turend the case over to Referee Lear who in turn instructed Inhelder to file schedules of his liabilities and assets. In instituting the involuntary proceedings the plaintiff states that the Citizens State bank had claims of $8,500 in excess of all security against Inhelder. These claims represented a $5,000 note payable to Inhelder and signed by John Koehler which had been transferred to the bank for a valuable consideration and on which nothing had been paid, and another $5,000 note payable to Inhelder and signed by W. C. and Mary J. Flora which had also been transferred to the bank on which about $3,500 was still owing. The bank receiver claimed that Inhelder had committed two acts of bankruptcy on Sept. 21, 1931. He conveyed, it is alleged, two lots in Pierce to his daughter-in-law, Lenore E. Inhelder of Foster, and her father, Lucien D. Hertert of SanFrancisco, Calif., "for a purported consideration of $10,000 with intent to obtain for them preference over other creditors.55 On the same day he conveyed other lots in Pierce, valued at $10,000 "to Wm. Reikofski, Wm. Duerst, W. D. Boschult and George Eichberger for $1," also to "permit them to obtain unlawful preference over other creditors." The plaintiff claimed that Inhelder was insolvent when these transactions were made. Object to Two Claims At the first meeting of creditors Mr. Luikhart's attorneys filed objections to the following claims alleged to be due Mrs. Lorene Inhelder, Lucien D. Hertert and the four men named in the second property transfer.
Among the debts listed by Inhelder in his schedules are the following: Wm. Duerst, Wm. Reikofski, W. D. Boschult and George Eichberger, $7.300 indebtedness on bond, secured by trust deed on lots in Pierce. Lenore Inhelder, Foster, and Lucien D. Hertert, San Francisco, $10,000, secured by mortgage on lots in Pierce.
Citizens State bank, Pierce, note signed by W. C. Flora and endorsed, balance $3,500; note signed by John Koehler, endorsed, balance $4,500; double liability on stock, $12,000. Breslau State bank, double liability on stock, $15,000. Mike Havel, Pierce, liability on trust equipment, $16,000. Federal Land bank, Omaha, $17,000, secured by farm mortgage. Aetna Life Insurance company, Hartford, Conn., $6,000, secured by farm mortgage. Federal Land bank, Omaha, $2,000, secured by farm mortgage. The assets include real estate with the exception of $300 worth of household goods and clothing. Lot 5 in block 34 at Pierce is claimed exempt as a homestead. It is valued at $2,000.
