Empowering Consumer Bankruptcy Professionals Through Knowledge.

The NACTT Emeritus Trustees

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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Current Articles

Upwardly Mobile: An Analysis of the Telecommunications Deduction Line on the Means Test

Kara K. Gendron

September 17, 2023

“Perhaps the most obvious problem with this instructional language is that it refers to outdated services.”

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Why Chapter 13 Is a Good Idea: Outcomes and Measures of Success

September 17, 2023

Recently Upsolve printed an article titled: “Why is Chapter 13 Probably A Bad Idea” by Jonathan Petts, July 27, 2023. In a nutshell the article says an unsuccessful Chapter 13 can leave you in worse financial shape. Further it states that it costs more than Chapter 7 and is less likely to be successful. Additional points by Upsolve are: Chapter...

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No Answers?

September 17, 2023

What do you do when you don’t know the answer to a bankruptcy client’s questions? After all, you’re a bankruptcy lawyer.

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New Trustee Named

September 10, 2023

Andrew B. Finberg has been appointed as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of New Jersey. Finberg is picking up the mantle left by happily retiring Isabel Balboa.

U.S. Trustee Program to Implement Virtual Section 341 Meetings of Creditors Nationwide

The Honorable William Houston Brown

September 10, 2023

These virtual 341 meetings via Zoom will be implemented on a rolling basis through early 2024. YEP, this means you, y’all, all y’all, you guys, and yoos guys. Doesn’t matter if you have been doing 341’s via telephone for 100 years . . . it’s ZOOM as soon as implemented in your district. For Debtor Atty’s, this may require having clients...

Good or Bad Faith?

Hale Andrew Antico

September 10, 2023

The Ninth Circuit BAP held that the chapter 13 debtors converted their case to Chapter 7 in good faith and therefore a post-petition inheritance was not property of the chapter 7 estate.

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Advising Consumer Clients About Credit Scoring – Some Questions

September 10, 2023

“We have observed consumers who seem to be focused principally on their credit scores, . . . rather than focusing on . . . a more critical immediate focus on their balance sheets . . .”

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New Trustee Named

September 3, 2023

Tracy Updike of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has been named as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of Indiana. Updike will be filling the trusteeship vacated by Debra Miller when she accepted a trusteeship in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

U.S. Trustee Program to Implement Virtual Section 341 Meetings of Creditors Nationwide

September 3, 2023

These virtual 341 meetings via Zoom will be implemented on a rolling basis through early 2024.

Critical Case Comment – Topping Off the Risk Factor

September 3, 2023

To pay present value to a secured creditor, a reorganization plan may start with a treasury rate and add a risk factor and need not start with a prime rate plus a risk factor.

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Critical Case Comment – Relief from Stay, Check; But Better Act Fast

August 27, 2023

A creditor having received relief from the automatic stay prior to confirmation of the debtor’s plan is nonetheless bound by the terms of the plan, once confirmed.

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The Weak Link in the Means Test

Consumer Bureau Announces Groundbreaking Plan to Protect Americans from the Devastating Effects of Medical Debt

August 27, 2023

The bankruptcy means test, designed to keep people out of bankruptcy, has a fatal weakness. . . . it’s health care.

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Topp – Upending Till??

Jody Bledsoe

August 27, 2023

The Eighth Circuit recently released its Topp opinion. At issue was the appropriate starting point for determining the discount rate to be used when paying secured claims under a chapter 12 plan. The debtor, who had gained confirmation of his plan before the bankruptcy court, proposed paying claims to Farm Credit Services over 20 years at a rate based on the...

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Curated Selections

From NCLC

From the Courts

Judicial Conference Revises Policy to Expand Remote Audio Access Over Its Pre-COVID Policy

D. OR - Local Rule and Form Changes - Comments Due by 10/20/2023

S.D. CA - Digital Recording Begins October 1; AT&T Telephonic Appearance System Discontinued on October 1

N.D. TX - Notice Concerning Remote Court Hearings

N.D. NY - Opportunity for Public Comment on Proposed Amendments to Local Bankruptcy Rules Effective December 1, 2023

Student Loans Chronicles

Student-Loan Borrowers Risk Losing Social Security Benefits if They Fall Behind on Payments. Democrats want to make sure that doesn't happen when repayment starts back up next month.

The Academy’s most recent webinar - Student Loans: What to Do When the Phone Rings and PC has Student Loans - is now available for viewing. This was a fantastic, one hour presentation by Josh Cohen (The Student Loan Lawyer) and Chapter 13 Trustee Scott Waterman. Josh outlines how to evaluate the types of loans you will run into and offers a flow chart of ‘what ifs’. As always, we offered this webinar free of charge to those attending the live presentation. The recording is available as a benefit of subscription to ConsiderChapter13.org OR we offer a pay per view option.

Some attendees had difficulty downloading the Attestation Form. Click here to download.

Sanctions and Irony and Fraud, Oh My!

Judge Strips Control of Businesses from Burt Marshall While $92 Million Bankruptcy Continues (Only a blurb unless you sign up for 7-day free trial.)

For Your Blog

8 Government Resources Every Elder Caregiver Should Know About

Know the Different Types of Authorizations for Third-Party Representatives

Of Interest

A Model Junk Fee Prevention Act

Federal Court Rejects CFPB's Novel Use Of "Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices" Authority

CFPB Issues Guidance on Credit Denials by Lenders Using Artificial Intelligence

Mortgage and Deeds of Trust Issues

Federal Housing Finance Agency: Suspended Counterparty Program Amendments (Note the comments section.)

For Your Health

Is All Snoring Created Equal?

From NCLC

The Threat to the CFPB – and How You Can Help

Student Loans Chronicles

CFPB Report Finds College Tuition Payment Plans Can Put Student Borrowers at Risk

Sanctions and Irony and Fraud, Oh My!

Former Law Firm Partner Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud

For Your Blog

Military Pay Could Be a Casualty of Looming Government Shutdown

Vets Don’t Deserve to Be Preyed Upon by Unaccredited ‘Claims Coaches’

Of Interest

Fourth Circuit Ruling Sends Message to Beware of Loan Servicing Practices Involving Bankruptcies and Pay Attention to State Laws

Just for Fun

People Who ‘Manifest’ Big Dreams Are More Likely to Go Bankrupt: Study

Debt and the Economy

Inflation Is Driving Up Consumer Credit Card Debt by Billions of Dollars

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Passing of Retired Ohio Judge

August 20, 2023

Passing of Retired Ohio Judge Judge Baxter was appointed United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Ohio on December 16, 1985, and served in the Court’s Cleveland, Ohio location until his retirement in 2011. He served as Chief Judge between 2004 and 2008. Click here for obituary.

The Long Reach of R. 3002.1

August 20, 2023

What are the consequences of a secured lender’s failure to comply with R. 3002.1 in a prior case when the debtor files again? Significant, it seems. . . . since their attorney said he “didn’t see the need” to do so. [Can you guess, now, how this comes out?]

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Critical Case Comment – The Now Infamous Castleman Case

Michael J. McCormick, Esq.

August 20, 2023

Equity that accrues as a result of market conditions in debtor’s assets between the time of confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan and conversion to Chapter 7 constitutes property of the estate which may be administered by the Chapter 7 trustee.

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A Fond Farewell

Marie-Ann Greenberg

August 20, 2023

Wishing our dear friend and colleague, Isabel Balboa, a hearty congratulations on her upcoming retirement. As many of you know, Isabel came to the United States from Cuba at the age of 6 with her mother and sisters. Upon leaving Cuba, they were forced to leave everything behind for fear that they would be caught and detained. Her father was...

Some Federal Protections are Stronger Than Others – Sovereign Immunity, Criminal Restitution, and the Automatic Stay

Jeffrey S. Fraser

August 13, 2023

In this brief synopsis, Fraser compares Lac du Flambeauto a case from the Middle District Court of North Carolina and its connection to the automatic stay.

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Escrow 101 and 102

August 13, 2023

In the fall of 2021, Michael McCormick provided subscribers with an EXCELLENT, expository, seven-part outline on mortgage escrow. This information is just as relevant today as when we first published it with one important update . . . When the next escrow analysis is performed and the servicer has received less than 12 payments of escrow (and often zero, as is often the case after the borrower received a forbearance during the COVID pandemic), the escrow balance will be far less than anticipated!!

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TMI: Too Much Information

Marie-Ann Greenberg

August 6, 2023

Practice Point: Just because it is an unsecured claim does not mean that it should be ignored. Review all claims for inappropriate violations and disclosure of personal identifiers! Keep track of serial violators for possible use in future requests for contempt and sanctions. With all of the emphasis these days on transparency and the requirement for more and more information...

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Critical Case Comment – Frontloading Attorney’s Fees

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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Don’t Be Dismissive – Rule 41

August 6, 2023

I was the third attorney on this lien avoidance matter. Instead of it being “third time’s the charm”, it came close to being “three strikes and you’re out.” All because of FRBP 7041. This was the set up: debtor’s original counsel filed a number of lien avoidance actions, including the one against a landlord with a large default judgment. The...

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Why Your Bankruptcy Client Doesn’t Understand You (And How to Fix the Problem)