No More Until Debts Do Us Part: Supreme Court Grants Married Same-Sex Couples the Same Joint Bankruptcy Protections as Opposite-Sex Couples in Obergefell v. Hodges

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

On the two-year anniversary of United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013), the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees the right to same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015 WL 2473451 (U.S. June 26, 2015).

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Windsor recognized that married same-sex couples, whose marriage was ‘celebrated’ in a state where same-sex marriage was legal, were entitled to the same treatment under federal law as married opposite-sex couples. Since . . .

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9th Circuit BAP: Actually, Absolute Right to Dismiss Means Absolute

Hale Andrew Antico

January 29, 2023

Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel finds no “eligibility” exception to right to dismiss a Chapter 13 bankruptcy Powell vs TICO Construction (In re Powell) 644 B.R. 181 (9th Circuit BAP, 2022) ISSUE Did the bankruptcy court err in granting Debtor’s motion to dismiss the Chapter 13? RULING No. FACTS This case tests the new “absolute right to dismiss” rule about...

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Taxes & Timing: Calculating Outcomes for Bankruptcy Debtors

Cathy Moran

December 19, 2021

Bankruptcy lawyers regularly evaluate the dischargeability of taxes when deciding when to file a client’s bankruptcy case. At base, the 3 year rule, the 2 year rule, and the 240 day rule routinely drive timing of a bankruptcy. But as we approach the end of the tax year, a client’s current year tax situation becomes another moving part in the...

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Critical Case Comment – No Such Thing as “Technical” Violation of the Stay

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 20, 2022

Bankruptcy Court found violation of automatic stay to be “technical”, thus no damages. Ninth Circuit BAP did not agree. Continuing to pursue state court fraudulent transfer action after transfer or filed for Chapter 7 relief violated the automatic stay; even if the violation of the stay is “technical”, damages, including attorneys’ fees and costs, should be assessed against the violator....

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How My Law Firm Learned to Stop Leaving Money on the Table Part 2 – The “Other Appropriate Relief” of Rule 3001

Mark C. Leffler

May 8, 2022

At my firm, we see a lot of consumers who have some combination of high debt and low income. Many of them arrive for their consultations after having been abused by debt collectors and predatory lenders, harmed by mortgage servicing errors, or subjected to inaccurate and derogatory credit reporting. Until fairly recently, after filing bankruptcies for these folks, we usually...

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Beyond Professional Ethics

July 25, 2021

By Merideth Akers, CPA, PHR, Comptroller forBradford W. Caraway (Birmingham, AL) I am a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Professional in Human Resources (PHR). I suspect that many who read this article are Licensed Attorneys. Others may hold a certification from other professions. These entities have their own rules of professional ethics and conduct that govern what we are...

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Judicial Year in Review 2021: Part 3 – Selected Cases under Parts IV-VII of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

December 5, 2021

Introduction Following Part 1's review of the December 1, 2021 changes in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and Part 2's digest of selected judicial decisions of interest for their procedural import . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members. Join Now Or Sign In Below: Username or...

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Ask Ms. Ps and Qs

Nancy B. Rapoport

May 14, 2023

Dear Readers: Want to know why your 1L Civ Pro course is your best friend when it comes to “undue hardship” cases? Because burdens of proof matter. (They matter in other cases, too, but I’m in love with the case of Love v. U.S. Dept. of Education (In re Love), Case No. 19-20532-C-7, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern...

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9th Circuit Joins the Bandwagon

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

June 18, 2023

The Ninth Circuit has now joined its sister Circuit in holding that the Bankruptcy Code does not permita Chapter 13 Trustee to retain the percentage fees collected on payments that a chapter 13 debtor made pre-confirmation in accordance with 26 U.S.C. §586 but, upon dismissal prior to confirmation of the plan, is obligated to return the fee to the debtor,...

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WE LOVE AND WILL MISS YOU, HELEN

Elizabeth Vaughan

July 31, 2022

Helen Morris, the Standing Chapter 13 and 12 Trustee for West Virginia is retiring at the end of this fiscal year. I first met Helen over lunch at NACTT, where we chatted about a non-legal interest we both share, writing fiction. I was delighted to discover, then as now, a friend with a razor wit, a wicked sense of humor...

Character Counts

Merideth Akers

November 6, 2022

“Does wearing these horizontal stripes make me look fat?” My wife, Becky, tells me that clothes with horizontal stripes make one look broad or fat. However, wearing clothes with vertical stripes create the illusion of making one look tall or slim. Smart fashion designers design clothing that creates the illusion that people are something they are not. I must confess...