By M. Jonathan Hayes, Resnik Hayes Moradi LLP (Los Angeles, CA) (Reprinted with permission. Originally published by the Los Angeles Daily Journal on May 20, 2021) We have been getting a lot of calls recently as you might expect from distressed small businesses. The “free” government money is starting to run out and panic is setting in. The potential client...

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) One of the mysteries of Chapter 13 is why mortgage lenders don’t send an IRS 1098 for mortgage payments made through a Chapter 13 plan. And without that reminder piece of paper, our clients don’t realize that much of what the trustee pays to mortgage creditors is deductible interest. Miss that deduction and...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Separate classification and preferential treatment of student loan debt. The Chapter 13 trustee and debtors’ attorney attempted to change the traditional approach in the District, seeking approval of a permissible fair discrimination in favor of student loan debt in plans so long as the preferential treatment and discrimination was no more than 20%....

Offering time-saving alternatives to a telephone call, the IRS reminds taxpayers they can get fast answers to their refund questions by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool available on IRS.gov and through the IRS2Go app. The IRS issues nine out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days, and the fastest way to get a refund is to use IRS...

Click here to see PDF – SBRA Guide June 2022 Compilation FINAL Click here to see PDF – SBRA May-June Supplement Final

With scam artists hard at work all year, taxpayers should watch for new versions of tax-related scams. One such scam involves fake property liens. It threatens taxpayers with a tax bill from a fictional government agency. Here are some details about the property lien scam that will help taxpayers recognize it: This scheme involves a letter threatening an IRS lien...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) No attorney fees for Chapter 7 work in converted case. In a case that began as Chapter 7 and converted to Chapter 13, the debtor’s attorney sought fees for work in the Chapter 7 phase under § 330(a)(4)(B) rather than § 330(a)(1). The Court found the better interpretation of § 330(a)(4)(B)’s language “in...

It is our distinct honor to inform you that Acting U.S. Trustee Paul Randolph has selected Debra L. Miller as the next Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Northern and Northeastern Divisions). Ms. Miller has served as a Standing Chapter 13 Trustee in the Northern District of Indiana since 2000. Her wealth of experience will allow...