From the Editor’s Desk – Attorney Actions

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Postpetition divorce attorney did not properly disclose fees. The Chapter 13 debtor employed an attorney to represent him in a divorce action filed by his spouse postpetition, and the debtor informed the attorney that he was in bankruptcy. The attorney was paid $7,150 retainer for the divorce representation, but the debtor later moved for disgorgement of those fees. The postpetition divorce was so intertwined with property of the estate issues that the attorney’s employment must be deemed to be “in connection with the case,” for purposes of . . .

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.

Related Articles

May 3, 2020
By Hon. Brian Lynch, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Western District of Washington, Tacoma Division When the Supreme Court issued United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa1 on March 23, 2010, commentators were perplexed.2 On the one hand, the Court upheld the 9th Circuit’s ruling allowing a hardship discharge of student loans in a chapter 13 plan. The Court held that...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
August 20, 2023
Equity that accrues as a result of market conditions in debtor’s assets between the time of confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan and conversion to Chapter 7 constitutes property of the estate which may be administered by the Chapter 7 trustee.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
December 18, 2022
Where a debtor fails to disclose to the Court or the trustee a forbearance on his mortgage that he was to pay directly, the Court would grant the trustee’s motion to modify to recapture as much as possible of the surplus funds the forbearance generated. (Kenney) In re Ilyev, 2022 WL 2965029 (Bankr. E.D. Va. July 26, 2022) Case Summary...
Members
September 22, 2019
By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 7 trustee’s avoidance of post-petition mortgage lien. After filing Chapter 7, the debtor, without prior authority, refinanced property of the estate twice and the trustee sought avoidance of the mortgage lien under § 549. No defense was available because the mortgagee did not qualify as a good faith transferee, having knowledge of...
Members
M Joseph Photo 2-1-22
March 10, 2024
“ . . . practice and procedure accomplishing the lien strip have been slow to evolve since 2017. . . . in the jurisdictions that opted out of usage of the Form 113 Plan, multiple iterations for lien stripping and release are found.”
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
July 17, 2022
A referral fee by retained special counsel paid to debtor’s attorney violates the prohibition in § 504 in that the referral fee constitutes an unauthorized splitting of attorney’s fees. (Williamson) In re Davis, 638 B.R. 198 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. March 31, 2022) Case Summary Four years after Lisa Davis filed her Chapter 13 petition, she was involved in an auto...
Members
Relyea
July 10, 2022
For many of the consumer debtors my firm represents, the primary purpose of filing bankruptcy is to save their home or other real estate from being foreclosed upon by their mortgage servicer. We help those debtors file and comply with chapter 13 plans that propose to resolve their defaulted mortgages in a variety of ways, which might include curing pre-petition...
Members
morgenstern-clarren
November 26, 2023
Although this article was originally published in 2009, Judge Morgenstern-Clarren took a fresh look just this week. It is just as relevant today as the day she first wrote it
Members
ACH-headshot
February 19, 2023
Creditors may now be subject to more preference actions, especially for those cases filed in Indiana. The Seventh Circuit recently overturned long-standing precedent that the preference period on garnishment of attachment would no longer run from the date of service or knowledge of the attachment but when the funds were paid over. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Mark...
Members
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...
Members

Looking to Become a Member?

ConsiderChapter13.org offers a forum to advance continuing education of consumer bankruptcy via access to insightful articles, informative webinars, and the latest industry news. Join now to benefit from expert resources and stay informed.

Webinars

These informative sessions are led by industry experts and cover a range of consumer bankruptcy topics.

Member Articles

Written by industry experts, these articles provide in-depth analysis and practical guidance on consumer bankruptcy topics.

Industry News

The Academy is the go-to source for the latest news and analysis in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy industry.

To get started, please let us know which of these best fits your current position: