Meet the New Trustee

At a mere 37 years old, Kara Luana West was appointed Chapter 13 and Chapter 12 Standing Trustee for the Southern Division of the Eastern District of Tennessee on January 1, 2015. Ms. West has very large shoes to fill as she is replacing long-standing, retiring Trustee C. Kenneth Still. The offices of the Trustee are in the heart of beautiful downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Ms. West first joined the Chapter 13 world in 2010 serving as Staff Attorney for Trustee. The very accomplished Ms. West not only received a J.D. from the University of Tennessee, College of Law, but received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting as a result of her undergraduate studies. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Ms. West practiced both corporate and commercial law at Husch Blackwell LLP in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

She worked as a senior financial auditor with Arthur Andersen, LLP and later went on to work as an internal auditor and manager of financial receipts for large insurance companies.

Ms. West is an active member of the Tennessee Society of CPAs and serves as Treasurer of The Justices Brock-Cooper American Inns of Court.

In her spare time she volunteers as a Board Member of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga, Inc., serving as Chair of various committees since 2010.

In addition, her husband, Matthew Hill, is an incredible cook and they both love to entertain – just in case you are thinking of heading to Chattanooga. They spend time doting over their five nieces and nephews as well as their scruffy terrier named Mr. Mustache.

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Critical Case Comment – You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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An over-median Chapter 13 debtor, in calculating projected disposable income, may deduct the higher of the projected plan payment for secured debts or the IRS allowance, but the debtor may not deduct the higher payment under the original contract.

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Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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The Academy

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Did Congress Mean What It Said in Section 1328(i)?

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By Pardis Akhavan, Resnik Hayes Moradi LLP (Encino, CA) The bankruptcy court in In re Ritter, 2021 WL 864092 (Bkrtcy C.D. Cal, 2021)(J. Tighe),denied debtors’ motion for an immediate discharge under Section 1328(i) ruling that Congress apparently did not intend that a chapter 13 debtor who obtains a loan modification should also receive a discharge, on that basis alone at...

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Memories of a Chapter XIII Trustee

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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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Here’s What Taxpayers Should Consider When Determining If They Need to File

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As people prepare to file their taxes, there are things to consider. They will want to determine if they need to file and the best way to do so. For tax year 2018, all individual taxpayers will file using the new Form 1040. Forms 1040A and 1040EZ are no longer available. Taxpayers who previously filed these forms will now file...

From the Editor – Claims

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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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