Can Negative Projected Disposable Income Offset Positive Projected Disposable Income?

By Kenneth Siomos, Attorney Representing Chapter 13 Trustee John H. Germeraad, Petersburg, IL

A number of important questions about § 1325(b), the disposable income test, have been resolved or, at least, appear to be near a final resolution. The Supreme Court, in Hamilton v. Lanning, determined that a debtor’s disposable income is just a presumptive starting point when determining “projected disposable income.”1 Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal interpreting the “applicable commitment period” are currently in unanimous agreement that even when disposable income is negative, an . . .

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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...

The Neglected Non-Dischargeability Provision

Cathy Moran

June 11, 2023

Hands up everyone who has encountered a claim that a debt is non-dischargeable by reason of § 523(a)(14). That’s what I thought: nada, or next thing to it. Despite watching for it, I hadn’t seen one ‘til this year when AmEx filed an adversary in a case in which I was peripherally involved. My copy of Collier’s code doesn’t comment...

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From the Editor – Claims

June 21, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Recordation of divorce judgment created secured claim. In Chapter 13 case, the debtor objected to former spouse’s secured claim, with pre-bankruptcy divorce judgment awarding former marital home to the husband but ordering equalization payments to the wife. No security was mentioned in the judgment, but its recordation created a lien under Wisconsin law....

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Vesting of Property in the Debtor Cuts Off Creditor’s Rights, Ninth Circuit Says

January 26, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Clouds of uncertainty have hovered over Chapter 13 debtors who find that they need to sell appreciated property before the case is over. Does appreciation occurring after filing go to creditors on the theory that the appreciation is property of the estate? Or does the vesting of property at confirmation entitle the debtor...

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Memories of a Chapter XIII Trustee

November 10, 2019

By C. Kenneth Still, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Retired (1968-2015) January 2, 1968, my first day as Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Southern and Winchester Divisions. I really didn’t know what I was doing or why I wanted the appointment. But there I was, duly appointed and ready to go but where...

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From the Editor – Claims

May 16, 2021

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Unpaid filing fee in prior case was unsecured claim. The Chapter 13 trustee moved for authority to pay unpaid filing fee from prior case, but Court denied that to the extent the motion sought payment ahead of unsecured creditors. The unpaid filing fee was nothing more than a general unsecured claim in the...

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What to Do with the Dreaded Timeshare?

August 25, 2019

By Karin N. Amyx, Staff Attorney to the Trustee Carl Davis (Wichita, KS) To me, the word “timeshare” conjures up images of a dark conference room at a resort hotel where unwitting tourists are being goaded into signing usury contracts in exchange for a free meal ticket at the buffet. But what is a timeshare? And how do you deal...

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Surrender of Collateral in a Plan- What Is the Court to Do if the Debtor Doesn’t Follow Through?

June 2, 2019

By Tammy E. Stickley and Francis J. DiCesare, Staff Attorneys for Margaret A. Burks, Esq. Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Cincinnati, OH) In a media age in which people expect to be told when “spoilers” are ahead, this summary needs no such warning. Courts have little patience for debtors who surrender collateral – especially real estate – then oppose the foreclosure...

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