Special Gift for Academy Members

This week we have a special treat for Academy members: The Gustafson Means Test Line by Line Outline. Last summer ConsiderChapter13.org ran a series of articles by Trustee Gustafson dissecting the Means Test. Now you can download, in PDF format, the entire, newly updated outline to take with you as a ready resource for court, 341’s, or meetings with clients. At 200+ pages, it is both a reference book AND a non-addictive sleep aid! Not a member? There is no better time to . . .

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Just the Facts, Ma’am – Consolidated Appropriations Act, December 27, 2020

January 10, 2021

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) This legislation includes several bankruptcy-related provisions, in addition to government funding and other COVID relief. Consumer bankruptcy issues are addressed in Title X of the Act, section 1001, which amends Bankruptcy Code § 541(b)’s exclusions from property of the estate, adding subsection 11 for certain coronavirus relief, defined as “recovery rebates made under...

Members

Critical Case Comment – How Many Cats?

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

August 7, 2022

Even though the Chapter 13 debtor’s 36 cats were property of the estate, the county animal control office could pursue possession of the cats and resulting disposition (by way of adoption). (Hagenau) In re Karen Mitchell-Smith, 2022 WL 2195466 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. June 17, 2022) Case Summary Sometime in 2021, Henry County Animal Control took possession of 36 cats that...

Will Getting Home Mortgage Forbearance Save Your Client’s Home?

April 19, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Mortgage forbearance for homeowners, shout the headlines. No need to make a house payment. Borrowers who can’t make this month’s mortgage payment were thrown a lifeline of sorts in the coronavirus rescue package. Only it’s probably not the help they think it is. And the lifeline may be far more fragile than they...

Members

From the Editor – Lien Issues

September 15, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtor had no authority under § 544. Discussing the split of authority, the Court adopted the majority view that the Code gives § 544 avoidance authority exclusively to the trustee, and the Chapter 13 debtor could not use that power to avoid a mortgage lien. In re Dobbs, _________B.R._________, 2019 WL...

Members

FDIC and OCC Proposals Threaten Expansion of Predatory Lending

January 19, 2020

Two new proposals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) could make it easier for payday and other high-cost lenders to use banks as a fig leaf, allowing online lenders to offer predatory loans at interest rates that are prohibited under state law. Online lenders have become increasingly bold in...

Measuring Success in Chapter 13: Successful Dismissals and Conversions

Honorable Brian D. Lynch

July 16, 2023

A. Introduction When should we regard dismissal or conversion of a chapter 13 as an unsuccessful bankruptcy? The arguments are familiar.Chapter 13 is the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way to stop foreclosures, repossessions, and garnishments by creditors.Desperate debtors can file a chapter 13 case without schedules, statements, or a plan and buy themselves a stay for a short period. And...

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Memorial Day 2023

The Academy

May 28, 2023

Memorial Day 2023 Honoring the Sacrifices of All Who Served

Bankruptcy’s Eternal Struggle

May 10, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) The timeless questions asked by mankind include “why are we here“, “which came first ...” and “coffee or tea“. Bankruptcy lawyers wrestle with “which controls, b-22 or Schedules I and J“. Having argued and lost the Pak case when BAPCPA was new, and felt vindicated when

Members

NCLC Seeks Signers Urging Foreclosure Pause When HAF Applied For

The Academy

January 16, 2022

NCLC seeking non-profit organizations to sign two letters (one to the CFPB and one to FHFA, FHA, VA, and USDA) urging the agencies to require servicers to pause foreclosure activity for at least 60 days after being notified that a borrower has applied for HAF assistance and meets conditional program eligibility. We ask organizations to sign both letters, and the...

Complete Termination of The Automatic Stay Under §362(c)(3)(A) According to the First Circuit

March 3, 2019

By Carri Hayden Johnson, Staff Attorney to O. Byron Meredith, Chapter 13 Trustee (Savannah, GA) The filing of a bankruptcy petition acts as a stay of certain actions against the debtor or the debtor’s property. The automatic stay is essentially the fundamental reason that a debtor seeks relief in the form of bankruptcy, as it allows the debtor a brief...

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