NACTT NEW Orleans Registration Now Available
REGISTER NOW for the 47th Annual NACTT Seminar: The 47th Annual NACTT Seminar: We have lots to offer in the Program which has been ‘styled’ like a rich Creole menu. includes hot topics such as: So You Wanna Bayou a Car; the famed Case Law Update; and a Lincoln/Douglas style debate.
And be sure to check out your opportunity to participate in the Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute. Spots fill quickly for this intensive workshop..

The Architecture of New Orleans
By Thomas M. White, Law Offices of White & Jorgensen in Omaha, NE
“It is ironic . . . that the French Quarter is dominated by buildings built under a code and in a style dictated by Spain.”

Who Wins: A Chapter 13 Trustee or an Unrecorded Divorce Decree?
By Kara West, Staff Attorney for C. Kenneth Still, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Southern Division of the Eastern District of Tennessee (Chattanooga)
In re Hilliard, Chapter 13 Case No. 11-13347 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. March 12, 2012) (memorandum opinion). This case provides guidance to practitioners on the effects of a division of assets in a divorce decree prior to a bankruptcy filing, especially concerning what is included in property of the estate.

New Addition to the Brief Bank - Issue Added:
Trustee’s Objection to Confirmation concerning division of marital assets and what constitutes property of the estate.

Forms Modernization Project
By The Honorable Elizabeth Perris, Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon
Every day each of us tries to do our work more effectively with fewer resources. The Bankruptcy Forms Modernization Project (FMP) is working to help participants in bankruptcy cases achieve that goal.

The Means Test for Chapter 7s – Part VI
By John Gustafson, Chapter 13 Trustee, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division
In this, the final segment of John’s outline on the Means Test for Chapter 7s, he analyzes Special Circumstances in Chapter 7 Cases and gives a brief overview of § 707(b)(3).Read Part I,Part II,,Part III. Part IVor Part V.

In re Diaz, 459 B.R. 86 (Bankr.C.D.CA. 2011)
By Jennifer Johnson, 2012 J.D. candidate, Nashville, TN
Income tax refunds received by Debtors post-petition but accrued on pre-petition earnings are property, not income, and are not subject to turnover to the Chapter 13 Trustee.

Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Training
The Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum is pleased to offer the Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute – Trial advocacy training - May 14-16.

NACTT NEW Orleans Registration Now Available
The 47th Annual NACTT Seminar: We have lots to offer in the Program which has been ‘styled’ like a rich Creole menu. Hot topics include: The real cost of accessing the system post-BAPCPA, a mortgage presentation which includes ethical issues, class actions, business Chapter 13s, DSO, along with a review of the new Federal Rules.
And be sure to check out your opportunity to participate in the Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute.

Critical Case Comment:
by Hank Hildebrand, Chapter 13 Trustee Middle District of Tennessee
Bourff v Rubin Lublin, LLC, 2012 WL 971800 (Eleventh Cir, March 15, 2012) (Per Curiam) 
A law firm, filing a debt verification letter to a consumer to collect on a mortgage obligation, violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it wrongly identifies the default servicer as the “creditor” in the communication.

On The Record With The AO
By Scott Myers, Attorney/Advisor, Bankruptcy Judges Division
(Re-printed with permission from NABT Talk 2012)
News From The Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules and Judiciary News

The Stern Files
Perplexed about the bankruptcy courts’ jurisdiction after Stern v. Marshall, ___U.S.___ 131 S. Ct. 2594 (2011)? Has a defendant in an adversary proceeding questioned the bankruptcy court’s subject matter jurisdiction? A website maintained by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, The Stern Files, is a helpful tool. The authors track and summarize post-Stern cases. The facts of each case are described and the holding briefly analyzed in light of Stern.

New Addition to the Brief Bank: Issue Added
Trustee’s appeal of court’s calculation of disposable income re: business expenses deducted from CMI or to obtain CMI

Reverse Mortgage”/HECM, Mainstream? Now a Cash Flow Management Financial Tool Still a Possible, But Difficult Solution to Save a Home if Over 62.
By Wayne R. Bodow, HECM Mortgage Consultant with MetLife Home Loans and Founding Member of NACBA
“Marketing of the HECM programs has now shifted to the people who do not need the product but could benefit from the program.”

What a Way to Turn a Buck: Government–Contracted Student Loan Debt Collectors’ Profits Reach $1 Billion in 2011

Sua Sponte
By Diane Weiss Sigmund, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Ret.), Eastern District of Pennsylvania
“. . . it soon became clear from the questions asked, that insufficient thought had been given to what was necessary to make a record that would support the claims raised.”

Business Aids Department: Staff Training Webinar - "The Players"
Fabulous resource! If you have new or even semi-new employees, please have them review this 45 minute training video then send us a quick e-mail with your feedback

Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Trial Advocacy Training
The Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum is pleased to offer the Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute – Trial advocacy training - May 14-16.