From the Editor – Chapter 7 Issues • NACTT Academy

From the Editor – Chapter 7 Issues

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Means Test: Current monthly income includes pay earned in six-month look-back, even though received afterwards. Concluding that the date of receipt of pay was not determinative, § 101(10A)’s definition of current monthly income included pay that “derived” during the six months. Also, reviewing what other courts had held, the debtor’s prepetition wage garnishment was not a deductible expense, since the automatic stay prevented the garnishment from being an ongoing expense. And, the debtors’ monthly student loan payments were not a special circumstance rebutting the presumption . . .

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Critical Case Comment–IRS and the “Innocent Spouse”

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 14, 2023

Bankruptcy courts lack jurisdiction to apply “innocent spouse” relief to determine the amount of a tax claim to be paid in a Chapter 13 case. (Taddonio) In re Geary, 2023 WL 2996720 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. April 19, 2023) Case Summary When a taxpayer signs a joint tax return with their spouse, the Internal Revenue Code is very clear. Both signatories...

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Critical Case Comment – Frontloading Attorney’s Fees

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

August 6, 2023

Nothing prohibits the confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan which frontloads the payment of attorney’s fees ahead of payments to secured and other creditors.

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Critical Case Comment – Pre to Pre and Post to Post

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

March 5, 2023

Mortgage loan servicer violated mortgage agreement with debtor, the automatic stay, the confirmation order and Rule 3002.1 by applying debtor’s post-petition monthly mortgage payments pursuant to the contractual terms of the loan, thereby applying post-petition payments to the debtor’s pre-petition mortgage arrearage. (Cary) In re Pope, 647 B.R. 597 (Bankr. D. N.H. August 15, 2022) Case Summary In November of...

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Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

September 27, 2020

By Professor Nancy Rapoport Dear Readers: The Academy staff has raised an important issue: Given the mental health issues associated with the pandemic, what should someone do when he or she sees a colleague lawyer in distress? Before we get to the ethics implications, let’s talk about the mental health issue itself. When people are under great stress, they try...

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Yet Another Arrow in the Quiver of the “Less Than Honest Debtor”?

January 6, 2019

By Academy Staff In July of 2016 ConsiderChapter13.org posted an article, “Another Arrow in the Quiver of the ‘Less Than Honest Debtor’.” That article addressed a decision of the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in In re Hurt, 2015 WL 9592064 (Bankr. E.D. Tn. 2015), in which the Court overruled the Trustee’s objection to exemptions. In Hurt,...

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Critical Case Comment – Fourth Circuit Says Easy-Peasy

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

September 24, 2023

In calculating projected disposable income, 13 debtor may deduct entire mortgage payment notwithstanding amount exceeds the housing allowance as established by the IRS Financial Standards Allowance.

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From the Editor – Dismissal

August 2, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtor had absolute right to dismiss. Facing a contested confirmation hearing, the debtor moved to dismiss the case, and his estranged spouse objected. Concluding that § 1307(b) provides an absolute right to dismiss a case that had not been previously converted, the court posed questions about whether there should be limits...

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Chapter 13 Trustees Prosecutorial Discretion

The NACTT Emeritus Trustees

July 30, 2023

While administering cases, Chapter 13 Trustees should carefully exercise their prosecutorial discretion. Trustee discretion is a powerful tool. It should be used wisely and consistently. Trustees should have office policies in place fort heir attorneys and office staff. What matters involve discretion? The UST Chapter 13 Handbook describes some: We asked the NACTT Emeritus Trustees for their thoughts and examples...

Rescuing a Troubled Chapter 13: The Unseen Threat

February 24, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) We all get sucked in, at some time, to try and rescue a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case gone bad. Make sure that you don’t let a bad situation get worse. Get your arms around §109(g). When only a do-over will do, don’t wait around. No Payments for Months The debtor came to me...

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Supreme Court Revisits Finality of Orders in Bankruptcy: Comment on Ritzen and Review of “Finality”

February 9, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction The Supreme Court unanimously held on January 14 that an order denying stay relief was final in Ritzen Group, Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, LLC.1 Thus, the creditor should have appealed the denial instead of waiting until later in the case to seek again to pursue its pre-bankruptcy litigation against...

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