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commenced”. Bankruptcy Code sec. 101(13). Given that Congress
promulgated that definition as part of the Bankruptcy Reform Act
of 1978, Pub. L. 95-598, sec. 101(12), 92 Stat. 2551, and that we
must presume that Congress knew of this definition 2 years later
when it enacted section 1398(i), see Cottage Sav. Association v.
Commissioner, 499 U.S. 554, 562 (1991); Lorillard v. Pons,
434 U.S. 575, 581 (1978); Kovacs v. Commissioner, 100 T.C. 124,
133 (1993), affd. without published opinion 25 F.3d 1048 (6th
Cir. 1994), we conclude that Congress intended to import the
Bankruptcy Code’s definition of the word “debtor” into the same
word used in section 1398(i). In fact, the legislative history
of section 1398 makes it clear, by frequent references to the
Bankruptcy Code, that Congress knew about the Bankruptcy Code’s
terms of art. E.g., S. Rept. 96-1035, at 28-30 (1980), 1980-2
C.B. 620, 634-636.
Death, in and of itself, does not alter the identity of the
“debtor” for Bankruptcy Code purposes. Pursuant to statutory
authority,3 the Supreme Court promulgated rule 1016 of the
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure applicable in the case of
3 As part of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, Pub. L.
95-598, sec. 247, 92 Stat. 2549, 2672, Congress reaffirmed the
authority of the Supreme Court to prescribe procedural rules for
bankruptcy cases. This authority is codified at 28 U.S.C. sec.
2075 (2000) amongst the provisions which grant the Court the
authority to prescribe the rules of procedure for Federal
District Courts.
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