A Modest Proposal for Student Loan Treatment in Chapter 13

By Professor Michaela White

In any chapter of the Bankruptcy Code, student loans are nondischargeable unless the debtor can show that repayment results in “undue hardship.” But the outcome of a Chapter 13 appears to be worse for the stressed borrower. In Chapter 13 cases a greater economic hardship results than if the student loan borrowers had sought and obtained a Chapter 7 discharge. Why are we penalizing debtors who try to repay nondischargeable student loans in a Chapter 13? Doesn’t this frustrate the goal of the 1978 Code (a fresh start for the “honest but unfortunate debtor”) and . . .

It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

Or Sign In Below:

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

TFS Bill Pay Announces New Attorney Report Center

November 21, 2021

TFS Bill Pay has launched a new powerful tool to help you succeed; the Attorney Report Center located in your AttorneyPortal. In the current bankruptcy environment, it is absolutely essential that your firm receives all of the compensation for the valuable work it has already done. TFS now provides you with pre-set, real-time reports to confirm your clients’ payments, which...

Escrow 102 – Part 2 of 4

October 3, 2021

By Michael J. McCormick, Esq., McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC (Roswell, GA) Escrow 101 - Part 1 Escrow 101 - Part 2 Escrow 101 - Part 3 Escrow 102 - Part 1

Members

Bankruptcy Courts Grapple with the “COVID-19 Discharge”

April 18, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction Analyzing the new "COVID-19 discharge" provision added to Chapter 131 by Congress on December 27 as part of the coronavirus emergency response legislation, the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California decided in In re Ritter2 that, in order to receive such a discharge, debtors must still comply...

Members

Substantial Contribution Claims

June 9, 2019

By Nicholas Miller, Third-Year Student, University of Texas School of Law, and Madison Haueisen, Second-Year Student, University of Texas School of Law The second issue at hand in this year’s Duberstein moot court problem involves a matter of statutory interpretation—specifically, whether §503(b) of the Bankruptcy Code allows a creditor to recover costs and expenses incurred in making a substantial contribution...

Members

Critical Case Comment – No Approval No Pay

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 15, 2022

It is incumbent upon nonbankruptcy attorneys, including personal injury attorneys, to verify on PACER that their client is not a debtor and that the cause of action as to which they represent their client is not property of the estate; failure to obtain approval of the bankruptcy court for representing a debtor or settlement of a personal injury action is...

Consumers Are Consuming Cash at an Unsustainable Rate

Kevin R. Anderson

June 26, 2022

Consumers have burned through their stimulus cash and are now drawing down their savings to satisfy pent up spending sprees and to cover the increasing cost of living. This cannot continue. From 2015 through the end of 2019, consumers held a consistent average of $1.1 trillion in savings. However, with the commencement of the COVID pandemic and the first of...

Members

Critical Case Comment–IRS and the “Innocent Spouse”

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 14, 2023

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

What, Exactly, Is the Trustee’s Percentage Fee

Rebecca Herr

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

2022 Bankruptcy Procedure Year in Review: Revised Statute and Rules and Selected Cases Part 9 More from the Supreme Court: MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

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

Courts Continue to Fill in the Gaps on the Interplay of Bankruptcy and the FDCPA

March 7, 2021

By Chris Hawkins, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (Birmingham, AL) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its debt collection final rule in the Federal Register on November 30, 2020, revamping the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for the first time since its enactment in 1977. Despite written comments submitted by several industry groups requesting clarity in areas where...

Members