From the Editor’s Desk – Confirmation

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Lack of good faith denial of confirmation. The debtor’s prepetition law firm, which represented debtor in divorce, objected to confirmation for lack of good faith, when the plan proposed 10% payment on the firm’s $96,000 legal fees. The debtor had converted $75,000 of non-exempt cash into her homestead exemption while the former divorce counsel was seeking judgment against her for fees. The $75,000 cash resulted from a settlement that her counsel had negotiated before the debtor fired the firm. Her choice of buying . . .

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Claims Secured by Personal Property

Pamela Simmons-Beasley

June 18, 2023

Chapter 13 in the Bankruptcy Code (1978 as amended) marks the first time that virtually all secured debts can be somewhat altered in a bankruptcy without getting the specific agreement of security holders. Real benefit is provided to the debtors who have personal property with secured loans due. Concepts including the automatic stay preventing enforcement or perfection of a security...

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The Power of a Checklist

Jay S. Jump

March 12, 2023

Recently, I had the pleasure of a great conversation with Chapter 13 Trustee, Thomas McDonald, from the EDMI. As it turns out, we have both been pilots for a long time. Once we came to this realization, our conversation quickly devolved from the issues confronting the bankruptcy industry to talk of density altitude, mountain flying, and the importance of using...

New and Revised Bankruptcy Forms

November 10, 2019

By William Houston Brown, Editor and Adviser, NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, Inc. Several Official and Director’s Forms related to bankruptcy filings are revised and some are new, with some already taking effect on October 1, 2019, others to take effect December 1, 2019, and others taking effect February 19, 2020. Several forms have already been updated on April...

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Courts Continue to Fill in the Gaps on the Interplay of Bankruptcy and the FDCPA

March 7, 2021

By Chris Hawkins, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (Birmingham, AL) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its debt collection final rule in the Federal Register on November 30, 2020, revamping the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for the first time since its enactment in 1977. Despite written comments submitted by several industry groups requesting clarity in areas where...

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IRS Attempting to Collect on Virtual Currency

July 28, 2019

IRS has begun sending letters to virtual currency owners advising them to pay back taxes, file amended returns; part of agency’s larger efforts. On July 26th, the IRS announced that it has begun sending letters to taxpayers with virtual currency transactions that potentially failed to report income and pay the resulting tax from virtual currency transactions or did not report...

From the Editor – Claims

October 20, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Debtor’s objection to tax claim for being “too low” was rejected. Noting that the debtor could not benefit prior to distribution to creditors, in event trustee found assets for distribution, debtor’s objection to claim filed by tax creditor on basis that claim was “too low” was rejected. “The debtor comes last, not first,...

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Taxpayers with Expiring ITINs Should Renew Them Now

August 18, 2019

Taxpayers with expiring individual taxpayer identification numbers should renew their number ASAP. There are nearly 2 million ITINs set to expire at the end of 2019. Taxpayers with an expiring number should renew before the end of this year. This will help avoid unnecessary delays related to their tax refunds next year. ITINs are used by taxpayers required to file...

Critical Case Comment

June 16, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee Mortgage creditor may not withdraw a notice of fees, costs, and charges filed in a case after the supplement to the claim has been challenged without court approval; the allowance of such a notice will not be permitted where a state statute forbids it. Quicken...

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Tell the Story

May 16, 2021

By Cathy Moran, Esq., (Redwood City, CA) Have I got a story for you. A rousing tale of schedules, hearings, frustrations, and ultimately fortunes, traceable to a good story in the fee application. Maybe that's a bit overblown, but I'm telling this story with a purpose. Good stories lead to fair compensation for bankruptcy attorneys. Fee applications aren't hard Filing...

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When (or Not) Is the Best Interests of Creditors Test Applicable in a Modified Plan?

August 22, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) While the best interests of creditors test is applicable upon modification of a Chapter 13 plan, post-petition acquired property of the estate is not included in such analysis in that such property would not be property of a Chapter 7 estate. (Somers) In re Taylor, 2021 WL 3118824 (Bankr....

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