From the Editor’s Desk – Lien Stripping

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

For purposes of strip off, property is valued at petition date. Discussing the various dates courts have used for purposes of valuation when the debtor proposes to strip off a junior lien, the court compared the petition date and effective date of the plan, concluding that the petition date was the critical one for determination of secured claim valuations. The court strongly encouraged debtors’ counsel to obtain a professional independent appraisal of value prior to filing the Chapter 13 case, if strip off is contemplated. Hegeduis v. Harris . . .