Chapter 20 Debtors Can “Strip Off” a Wholly Unsecured Junior Lien on Debtor’s Primary Residence—Regardless of Debtors’ Eligibility for Discharge

By Ansley Owens, Contributing Writer and Intern for The Academy (Nashville, TN)

“Chapter 20” debtors who filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and filed for Chapter 13 petition less than four years later can “strip off” wholly unsecured junior liens according to the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit.

In 2011, debtors Serge Michel and Lori Jean Boukatch (In re Boukatch, No. BAP AZ-14-1483, 2015 WL 4127158 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. July 9, 2015)) filed a Chapter 13 case valuing their residence in Phoenix, Arizona at $187,500. There were two . . .

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