Recently, the Emeritus Trustees (“ETC”) commented on “How to Manage Incompetent, Unprepared, and Negligent Bankruptcy Counsel”. We now turn to ETC to share their collective wisdom when addressing the issues raised by incompetent, unprepared and unreasonable creditor counsel. CREDITOR ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION ISSUES Several ETC Trustees list the following as problematical during their tenure. Attorney claims lack of authority from creditor...

There are several different types of security clearances that an individual might seek as a prerequisite to employment. What each clearance requires depends on many factors, such as whether the person is a civilian or part of the armed forces, whether the clearance is for facility access only (versus access to sensitive documents), and the scope of the access in...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) One of the issues raised at the public hearings of the Commission concerned Chapter 7 trustees that would not take prompt action to abandon exempt or partially exempt assets but, would retain assets in the hope that there might be equity in the future to sell the asset for...

Chapter 13 debtor has no obligation to voluntarily disclose changes in income or the acquisition of post-petition assets absent a request from a party in interest for such information.  (Kendig) In re Poe, 2022 WL 3639415, (Bankr. N.D. Ohio August 22, 2022) Case Summary Mr. Poe filed a Chapter 13 petition in March of 2019.  At the time of filing,...

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...

By Merideth Akers, CPA, PHR, Comptroller for Bradford W. Caraway (Birmingham, AL) I have taught Compensation and Benefits to candidates preparing to take the Professional in Human Resources certification exam. These two topics include a great amount of employment law. So, I know just enough about employment law to be scared… or maybe cautious is a better term. I am...

Introduction Following Part 1's review of the December 1, 2021 changes in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Part 2 and

Traps and grey areas abound when one spouse files bankruptcy during or after a divorce. Inattention by the non-filing spouse can result in the bankruptcy discharge of spousal claims that might actually be nondischargeable. One of those traps involves the differing treatment in bankruptcy of debts to a former spouse incurred in the course of a divorce (Bankruptcy Code §523(a)15))...

By Cathy Moran, Esq., Moran Law Group (Redwood City, CA) For Californians, the CA Supreme Court’s decision in Brace this summer upended our understanding of joint tenancy and community property. For decades, we “knew” that a property couldn’t be . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members. Join...

When someone legally changes their name, there are tax consequences they need to know about, especially at tax time. People change their names for several reasons: Taking their spouse’s last name after a marriage Hyphenating their last name with their spouse’s after getting married Going back to their former name after a divorce Giving an adopted child the last name...