DOMA and Non-Traditional Family Obligations

By Professor Michaela White, NACTT Academy Editor & Advisor

The bankruptcy court’s opinion in In re Balas, 449 B.R. 567 (Bankr. C. D. Calif. 2011), in which twenty bankruptcy judges joined, held that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Fifth Amendment equal protection rights of same-sex debtors who seek to file a joint Chapter 13 petition. The trustee moved to dismiss the case arguing that DOMA supplies the definition “spouse” and that because the same-sex debtor couple could not meet this definition, they could not file a joint petition. This . . .

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Disregarding Bankruptcy Protections Can be Costly: How Courts Decide Punitive Damages Awards for Stay Violations

December 15, 2019

By Veronica D. Brown-Moseley and Stephen F. Relyea1 The automatic stay serves as a shield that immediately protects debtors in bankruptcy and their property from a host of creditor collection actions ranging from foreclosure, repossession, and garnishment to collection letters and phone calls. In most instances, the filing of a bankruptcy case forces creditors to cease all collection actions and...

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Creditors’ Rights and Debtors’ Protections at the Intersection of Consumer Bankruptcy and UCC Article 9

August 9, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction to this Series Current pandemic circumstances and economic conditions portend an onslaught of bankruptcy filings. In the consumer bankruptcy field, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in UCC Article 9. Here, we look at a couple of topics that touch on the interplay of Article...

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Critical Case Comment – Present Value and Attorney’s Fees

October 3, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) Administrative fees and claims existing when Chapter 13 plan was confirmed would reduce the amounts received by unsecured creditors in a Chapter 7 under the “best interests of creditors test;” unsecured creditors, expected to receive payments over three years, must be paid the “present value” of that stream of...

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Here’s What Taxpayers Should Consider When Determining If They Need to File

February 3, 2019

As people prepare to file their taxes, there are things to consider. They will want to determine if they need to file and the best way to do so. For tax year 2018, all individual taxpayers will file using the new Form 1040. Forms 1040A and 1040EZ are no longer available. Taxpayers who previously filed these forms will now file...

Critical Case Comment – Gotta’ Be Purchase Money to Get the Deduction

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

October 15, 2023

A little bit for everyone in this case . . .In calculating above-median income debtor’s projected disposable income, Chapter 13 debtor may not deduct the “ownership allowance” for transportation expenses if the secured debt in question is secured by a nonpurchase money security interest in a motor vehicle.

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Interspousal Claims Live On and On and On

Cathy Moran

April 21, 2024

Even when the contentions against a debtor spouse sound in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, or intentional tort, the claims of the debtor’s spouse survive a Chapter 7 discharge.

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Yet Another Reason Why the Means Test is “Broken”

Thomas D. DeCarlo

December 18, 2022

The Bankruptcy Code produces some difficult results. Sometimes those results pass difficult and extend into problematic. The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Idaho crossed well over difficult in In re Clifford, 2022 WL 16727279 (Bankr. D. Id. 2022). The question addressed in Clifford is one that comes up in every Chapter 13 case – how do we calculate “Current...

Chapter 13 Trustees Prosecutorial Discretion

The NACTT Emeritus Trustees

July 30, 2023

While administering cases, Chapter 13 Trustees should carefully exercise their prosecutorial discretion. Trustee discretion is a powerful tool. It should be used wisely and consistently. Trustees should have office policies in place fort heir attorneys and office staff. What matters involve discretion? The UST Chapter 13 Handbook describes some: We asked the NACTT Emeritus Trustees for their thoughts and examples...

Fourth Circuit: Brittner v. Beach Anesthesia

Edward C. Boltz

June 25, 2023

Summary: Brittner filed an adversary proceeding against Beach Anesthesia alleging violations of the automatic stay, but the bankruptcy court (affirmed by the district court) held that she had either failed to establish actual damages or to mitigate damages. The Court of Appeals held that that Brittner needed to satisfy a five-part test to establish a violation of the automatic stay: (1) that a bankruptcy...

Critical Case Comment – Fee Wars: The Battle Over Debtor Attorney Compensation

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

March 31, 2024

Debtors’ attorney’s fees can be calculated as a percentage of the presumptively reasonable “no-look” fee for cases involuntarily dismissed prior to confirmation and is an allowed administrative claim which can be paid under § 1326(a)(2).

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