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This Week's Featured Articles

memorialday
May 28, 2023
Memorial Day 2023 Honoring the Sacrifices of All Who Served
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
In determining the appropriate “present value” factor to be added to the payment of a secured claim in a Chapter 12, the Court should look at the “riskless” treasury rate rather than the “prime rate” before enhancing it with a risk factor.  (Ebinger) Farm Credit Services of America v. Topp, 2022 WL 2981590 (S.D. Iowa, July 19, 2022) Case Summary...
Members

Current Articles

districtsc
May 28, 2023
Retirement of Judge David Robert Duncan
moran_cathy
May 21, 2023
For a system that is supposed to rehabilitate personal finances and set debtors back on their feet, Chapter 13 nationwide is schizophrenic about on- going retirement savings, divided about whether post petition contributions to retirement accounts preclude confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan. Too many courts, in my opinion, come down barring voluntary provisions for old age for the 5...
Members
__ head shot
May 21, 2023
Chapter 13 plans and confirmation orders will occasionally include post-confirmation disclosure and turnover requirements for tax returns and refunds and for other types of post-petition recoveries and income. Debtors are expected, on their own and without the need for rigorous trustee oversight, to fulfill the turnover requirements as a condition of plan completion and discharge. What happens when the case...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
Chapter 13 plan cannot be modified to treat a priority claim as general unsecured after the time for reconsideration of the order has passed. (Easterbrook) Matter of Terrell, 39 F.4th 888 (7th Cir. July 12, 2022) Case Summary The Terrells’ Chapter 13 plan proposed a classification to pay the State of Wisconsin in full as a priority claim because, they...
Members
rummler
May 21, 2023
(The DuPage County Bar Association grants permission to reprint all or part of this article, Chapter 13 Saves the World! by Arthur Rummler, Volume 29, Issue 9, May 2017 edition of the DCBA Brief. Copyright 2017, DCBA Brief, All Rights Reserved.) We are pleased to reprint an article referred to recently by Director Twomey of the Executive Office for United...
samantharuben
May 14, 2023
(Reprinted with permission.  Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee Newsletter – Spring 2023 (Northern District of Illinois)) During her tenure as a bankruptcy judge for nearly 24 years, Judge Carol A. Doyle has presided over countless chapter 7, 11, and 13 cases, leaving a lasting impact on the Chicago bankruptcy landscape.  She has been a dedicated and respected member of the bankruptcy...
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
Bankruptcy courts lack jurisdiction to apply “innocent spouse” relief to determine the amount of a tax claim to be paid in a Chapter 13 case.  (Taddonio) In re Geary, 2023 WL 2996720 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. April 19, 2023) Case Summary When a taxpayer signs a joint tax return with their spouse, the Internal Revenue Code is very clear.  Both signatories...
Members
NBR cropped 2
May 14, 2023
Dear Readers: Want to know why your 1L Civ Pro course is your best friend when it comes to “undue hardship” cases?  Because burdens of proof matter.  (They matter in other cases, too, but I’m in love with the case of Love v. U.S. Dept. of Education (In re Love), Case No. 19-20532-C-7, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern...
Members
ahern_larry_regular
May 14, 2023
Introduction This series reviews developments in bankruptcy procedure during the past year.One new rule and amendments to 16 rules took effect December 1, 2022.  Many reflected changes necessitated by the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), and had been in place in the same or similar form on an interim basis since that legislation took effect.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
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,...
Members
moran_cathy
May 7, 2023
The no man’s land between the mortgage due date and late payment is a persistent trouble spot for Chapter 13 practitioners.  For example, are there arrears when the case is filed during the grace period and the payment made before it was late? In Borre, Judge Ronald Sargis of ED CA said no. He held that the payment was not...
Members
ahern_larry_regular
April 30, 2023
Introduction One new rule and amendments to 16 rules took effect December 1, 2022.  Many reflected changes necessitated by the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), and had been in place in the same or similar form on an interim basis since that legislation took effect.  Part 1 of this series summarized . . . It looks like you...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
April 30, 2023
A secured creditor would not be granted relief from the stay because the motion was based on the creditor’s failure to file a timely proof of claim.  (Grant) In re Flores, 2023 WL 2787514 (Bankr. N.D. Ind. March 8, 2023) Case Summary Mr. Flores filed a petition under Chapter 13 proposing to pay Gaeta Auto Sales in full, with interest,via...
Members
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Curated Selections

Texas Woman Charged in $3.4 Million Fraud Scheme Against Wisconsin Business (Bankruptcy connection: According to court records, Doherty filed for bankruptcy multiple times, including twice in Western District of Wisconsin as Sarah Burkeland and Sarah Gill, and also recently in Colorado and Texas.)

Make a Plan - Create and practice an emergency plan so your family will know what to do in a crisis (Great resource from the Red Cross with easily downloadable templates to help families make a plan.)

These Celebs Filed for Bankruptcy - Some Bounced Back Better Than Others (Many of these you know about. Some you do not. But a great idea to brush up on your trivia before the Case Law Update at NACTT Austin!!)

horan

Thomas M. Horan was sworn in on March 22nd to the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

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More Articles

Proof of Claim
In any given year Chapter 13 Trustees administer 400,000 to 500,000 cases and distribute almost $5 billion to creditors.  A critical duty for trustees is to be sure that distributions are correctly delivered to an allowed claimant. 11 USC § 501 governs the filing of a proof of claim and 11 USC § 502 sets forth the requirements for allowance...
Members
rebeccaherr
April 23, 2023
In recent years, a handful of cases have discussed the issue of what happens to the trustee’s percentage fee, collected from debtor plan payments, upon the dismissal or conversion of a case prior to confirmation. This is an emerging area of law, with decisions on both sides.  However, with this new issue, there appears to be at least some confusion...
Members
daryl smith
April 23, 2023
Is there a duty to inform the trustee about changes post-plan confirmation? Yes.  There is an inherent duty for the consumer debtor to update the trustee on any and all material changes, particularly windfalls, post plan confirmation.  In a very recent case, In Re Robinson, the United States Trustee moved to dismiss debtor’s chapter 13 case because the debtor received...
Members
image004
April 2, 2023
Consumer law attorney, mentor and educator, Oliver Max Gardner III recently announced that he is retiring. His passion, diligent research and unmatched expertise has served as a north star in consumer law for so many of us. From building a community of like-minded enthusiasts through the renowned Bankruptcy Boot Camp and cultivating an army of consumer litigators to fiercely defending...
Academy Circle Logo Final
April 2, 2023
It is our distinct honor to inform you that Acting U.S. Trustee Paul Randolph has selected Debra L. Miller as the next Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Northern and Northeastern Divisions). Ms. Miller has served as a Standing Chapter 13 Trustee in the Northern District of Indiana since 2000. Her wealth of experience will allow...
gendron-1
April 2, 2023
Section in 109(g)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code bars a debtor from filing a new case for 180 days if the Debtor voluntarily dismisses a case “following” a motion for relief. Not surprisingly, courts are split on how they interpret the word “following” as used in § 109(g)(2). After all, the word “following” is not limited to one definition, or even...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
March 26, 2023
A 34-year-old Chapter 7 debtor could discharge his student loan obligation by establishing that he could not reasonably make payments on the balance, could not maintain a reasonable standard of living, and because the expiration of his payment term had already passed, his standard of living was likely to persist, with no realistic future prospects. (Silverstein) In re Wolfson, No....
Members
branson1
March 26, 2023
The Justice Department, in partnership with the Department of Education, recently announced new guidelines that loosen the strict application of the “undue hardship” exceptionwhen defending a student loan dischargeability action. This new guidance is a game changer. In the past the Department of Justice narrowly applied the undue hardship exception when defending discharge of student loans to the extent that...
Members
ahern_larry_regular
March 26, 2023
Introduction Amendments to 16 rules and new one new rule took effect December 1, 2022. Many reflected changes necessitated by the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA),1 and had been in place in the same or similar form on an interim basis since that legislation took effect. Part 1 of this series summarized 2022 . . . It looks...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
March 19, 2023
Below-median Chapter 13 debtor bears the burden of justifying a plan longer than three years as confirmation of a five-year plan would be denied as providing insufficient justification to exceed three years. (Robinson) In re Ingram, 2023 WL 2529730 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. March 15, 2023) Case Summary Danny Ingram filed four bankruptcy cases over 20 years. He was single with...
Members

Current Webinars

January 28, 2023
Join our panel of experts* as they discuss the specifics of the brand new DOJ Guidelines, how they are geared...
Members
September 1, 2022
Join Trustee Hank Hildebrand as he interviews Amy Seigenthaler, Managing Partner of FINN Partners Southeast. FINN are specialists in marketing...
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January 15, 2022
Join our panel of experts as they expound on the discussion that began in our webinar on December 16th entitled...
Members
January 7, 2022
Join our panel of experts for a lively discussion regarding the proposed changes to Federal Rule 3002.1. Is it working...
Members
October 29, 2021
Much is being written and discussed about an opinion out of Vermont - Gravel. Taggart, Law v. Siegel, Newrez, LLC...
Members
June 4, 2021
Join an esteemed panel for a detailed discussion regarding the nuances of working with Credit Union loans in Chapter 13...
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