I Can Explain

By Helen M. Morris, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Northern and Southern Districts of
West Virginia

The perfect t-shirt for Chapter 13 trustees is now available. It says: “I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.” It only comes in one color. Too bad ‘cause I need a week’s worth and think different colors would be nice.

Let me share some of my recent experiences which have made this shirt so desirable.

At a recent bar meeting, my systems manager made a presentation on using an Excel based worksheet . . .

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When the Duty to Provide Tax Returns Collides with Confidentiality

Michael B. Joseph

February 6, 2022

Bankruptcy Code Section 521(e)(2)(A)(i) and (ii) provides that a debtor must supply tax returns to the trustee in a chapter 7 or 13 case, and to a creditor who timely requests such copy. Must the debtor provide copies that contain personal identifying information such as names, addresses and social security numbers of dependents including minor children? Or a redacted version...

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How to Present an Effective Summary Judgment Motion

August 23, 2020

By Hon. Erik P. Kimball, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida (Used with permission - Originally Published by the Courthouse Beacon, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida August, 2020) Summary Judgment Applies In Contested Matters Bankruptcy Rule 7056 incorporates all of Federal Rule 56 for purposes of adversary proceedings, adjusting only the...

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Three Last Things Trustees Should Know About the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 – Part V

November 17, 2019

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction This series focuses on four bankruptcy-related bills that were enacted during the 116th Congress and signed into law on August 23, 2019.1 One bill, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA),2 appears in its entirety in Appendix B to this series and was summarized in

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Critical Case Comment – Objection to Entire Housing Allowance Overruled

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

March 3, 2024

This is a potential BIGGIE . . . Where a Chapter 13 debtor incurs one relatively small expense covered by the IRS Local Standards, the debtor is entitled to deduct from CMI the entire allowance to calculate Projected Disposable Income.

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Cars, Fines, and Chapter 13 in the Windy City

January 12, 2020

By Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Virginia (Charlottesville) The Seventh Circuit thought that it had finished dealing with the intersection of cars, fines, Chapter 13, and the City of Chicago when it rendered its decision earlier in 2019 in “Steenes I.” In re Steenes, 918 F.3d 554 . Alas, it was not to be,...

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2020 Vision

February 14, 2021

By Jan Sensenich, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Vermont I think it was in junior high school when I first started wearing glasses. I remember not liking the idea of having to wear glasses. I thought I could see just fine. As far as I knew, I was seeing what I needed to see. But I also...

List It or Lose It: When Actual Knowledge Isn’t Enough

June 20, 2021

By Cathy Moran, Esq., (Redwood City, CA) To actually effect abandonment of unadministered assets in a bankruptcy case, the asset in question must appear on Schedule A/B. That’s the hard teaching of Stevens v. Whitmore from the 9th Circuit BAP. A passing reference to an asset in the SOFA isn’t sufficient. Neither was the fact the trustee explicitly knew about...

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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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Bankruptcy’s Eternal Struggle

May 10, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) The timeless questions asked by mankind include “why are we here“, “which came first ...” and “coffee or tea“. Bankruptcy lawyers wrestle with “which controls, b-22 or Schedules I and J“. Having argued and lost the Pak case when BAPCPA was new, and felt vindicated when

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Chapter 13 Trustee Duties, Powers, And Limitations – Part 3

October 18, 2020

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama Can the trustee challenge the debtor’s attorney’s fee? In re Rodriguez Perez, 2018 WL 3655656 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2018). In this case, the chapter 13 trustee asked the bankruptcy court to assess the contract between the debtor and counsel under § 526-528. The trustee alleged that the contract...

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I Can Explain

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Related Articles

When the Duty to Provide Tax Returns Collides with Confidentiality

How to Present an Effective Summary Judgment Motion

Three Last Things Trustees Should Know About the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 – Part V

Critical Case Comment – Objection to Entire Housing Allowance Overruled

Cars, Fines, and Chapter 13 in the Windy City

2020 Vision

List It or Lose It: When Actual Knowledge Isn’t Enough

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

Bankruptcy’s Eternal Struggle

Chapter 13 Trustee Duties, Powers, And Limitations – Part 3

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