Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

By Professor Nancy Rapoport

Dear Readers:

To continue the new year off right, here’s a discussion about a question that I received:

I get a telephone msg (or email or text) from a client with a legitimate legal question. How long do I, ethically, have to respond? A day, a week? What if I never respond?

I know that each of you is very busy (or at least I hope you are). But the right answer to this is a combination of “it depends on the question” and “do you want to stay busy as . . .

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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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Chapter 13 –Success/Benefits & Everything in between

December 20, 2020

By Robert S. Thomas, II,1 Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Maryland (Baltimore) All stakeholders strive to make the Chapter 13 program efficient and beneficial to all parties. The Chapter 13 program has evolved over the years to better serve debtors and creditors. This is due in part because of the remarkable actions taken daily by our Bankruptcy...

Are Direct Payments by Debtor on Mortgage Considered Payments “Under the Plan” for Purposes of Discharge?

April 28, 2019

By William H. Brown, Adviser to The Academy d/b/a ConsiderChapter13.org In the most recent opinion on the issue, as of this writing, the Court in In re Rivera, 2019 WL 1430273 (Bankr. D. Ariz. Mar. 28, 2019), in perhaps still a minority view, concluded that debtors’ default in making all direct postpetition mortgage payments was not a failure to complete...

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From the Editor

September 20, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtors’ FDCPA claim was not “related to” bankruptcy case. After reopening closed case, the debtors filed adversary complaint against mortgage holders and servicers, alleging various claims for violation of discharge injunction, automatic stay and FDCPA. The complaint plausibly pleaded elements required for §§ 362(k) and 524(i), but the claims under FDCPA...

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Chapter 12 and Act2/Conference Update

August 18, 2019

By Rebecca Garcia and Jan Sensenich, Chapters 12 and 13 Standing Trustees The Association of Chapter 12 Trustees (ACT2) had a wonderful day and a half conference in advance of the NACTT Seminar on July 15 and 16 in Indianapolis. In addition to Trustee participants, we had judges, debtors, and creditors counsel and representatives attend and participate. We kicked off...

Rule 3002.1, Contempt and Sanctions – How a Lender Can Create a Mess

Thomas D. DeCarlo

October 16, 2022

The facts in In re DeWitt, 2022 WL 4588320 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio 2022), are a bit “unusual”. Debtor filed Chapter 13 to reinstate her mortgage. The mortgage was “non-escrowed” and Debtor was required to pay property taxes directly. Surprisingly, she did not pay her property taxes. The first time, the Lender paid the property taxes but decided not to pursue...

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Who Gets the Trustee’s Fee and When?

August 8, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Trustee, Middle District of TN (Nashville) Chapter 13 trustee is not compelled to return the percentage fee taken from a Chapter 13 case when the case is dismissed prior to confirmation. Harmon v. McCallister, 2021 WL 3087744 (9th Cir. BAP July 20, 2021) (Gan) Case Summary Douglas and Christine Harmon filed a Chapter...

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Meet A Newish Trustee

July 28, 2019

Tiffany M. Cornejo was appointed as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of New Mexico on December 1, 2017. She took the reins from retiring Kelley Skehen. Ms. Cornejo received her Bachelor of Science in Journalism (B.S.J.) degree at the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 2002 and remained there to obtain her Juris Doctor in 2005. She...

When The Marital Community Doesn’t Get a Bankruptcy Discharge

Cathy Moran

November 13, 2022

Community property works differently in bankruptcy. I probably don’t have to tell you that. On the issue of assets and debts, community property is pretty straightforward. All of the community property comes into the estate upon the commencement of a bankruptcy case, even when only one spouse files. §541(a)(2). Every creditor with a right to be paid from the community...

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The Brunner Student Loan Hardship Test: Alive and Well in The Big Apple

June 23, 2019

By Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Virginia (Charlottesville) Let’s take the following set of facts and see how it plays out in the labyrinthian world of hardship discharge of student loan debt. The case is In re Lozada (Lozada v. Educational Credit Management Corporation), 594 B.R. 212 (Bankr. S.D. N.Y. 2018). Years ago (30...

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Related Articles

Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

Chapter 13 –Success/Benefits & Everything in between

Are Direct Payments by Debtor on Mortgage Considered Payments “Under the Plan” for Purposes of Discharge?

From the Editor

Chapter 12 and Act2/Conference Update

Rule 3002.1, Contempt and Sanctions – How a Lender Can Create a Mess

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The Brunner Student Loan Hardship Test: Alive and Well in The Big Apple

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