By Academy Staff Jeffrey M. Kellner graduated from THE Ohio State University in 1975. Between then and entering law school, Jeff worked in Montana for the park service. He graduated from Capital University College of Law in 1985. After law school, he worked for two years as a law clerk for Judge Calhoun in Columbus, OH. He then went to...

Nearly 2 million Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are set to expire at the end of 2019 as the IRS continues to urge affected taxpayers to submit their renewal applications early to avoid refund delays next year. “We urge taxpayers with expiring ITINs to take action and renew the number as soon as possible. Renewing before the end of the...

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...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) One of the most difficult situations faced by a debtor and debtors’ counsel is the repossession of important collateral securing a debt owed to a creditor. These items, such as automobiles, furniture, boats, and mowers which have been pledged to a creditor are important – often critical – to...

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction This series has focused on the four bankruptcy-related bills that were enacted during the 116th Congress and signed into law on August 23, 2019. One bill, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), will be effective February 19, 2020. It appears in its entirety in Appendix B to...

Taxpayers who are contacted by a private collection agency on behalf of the IRS might have questions about the program. These taxpayers can visit IRS.gov to find answers to questions they might have. In fact, to better help these taxpayers, the IRS recently updated the private debt collection pages on IRS.gov. These updates added more information for taxpayers whose case...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) While the debtors failed to meet the high threshold to establish excusable neglect to permit their claim filed on behalf of a creditor after the bar date to be allowed, where a Chapter 13 case is dismissed and then reinstated prior to the expiration of the bar date, the...

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...

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction In In re Dao,1 Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein on May 11 ruled on an issue on which the circuits are split and certiorari is pending.2 Judge Klein agreed with the majority view that, under paragraph 362(c)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code, the automatic stay terminated 30 days after the order...

By Cathy Moran, Esq., Moran Law Group (Redwood City, CA) For Californians, the CA Supreme Court’s decision in Brace this summer upended our understanding of joint tenancy and community property. For decades, we “knew” that a property couldn’t be . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members. Join...