New Academy President Elected

The Academy is pleased to announce that Mark C. Leffler of Boleman Law Firm, P.C. has been elected President of the NACTT Academy. Boleman represents only consumer debtors in bankruptcy, with offices in Richmond, Hampton, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. As most of you know, the NACTT Academy is a non-profit, tax exempt entity. Although closely related, the NACTT Academy is a separate organization from the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT). The Academy’s website is updated weekly with new feature articles, case analysis, ethical lessons, and business aids – anything you need to know regarding the Chapter 13 world. These substantive articles are written by nationally recognized bankruptcy lawyers, trustees, judges, and law students. Additionally, we regularly hosts free webinars on subjects of interest to consumer bankruptcy practitioners and/or their staff members. The Academy also works with the NACTT to plan and produce the educational component of the NACTT annual seminar. Mark is a shareholder at Boleman Law and is its Chief Legal Officer. He attended his first NACTT annual seminar within two weeks of joining Boleman Law in 2000 and has, since then, been a featured and favorite panelist at numerous NACTT annual seminars. While primarily comprised of Chapter 13 trustees, Mark was the first debtor’s attorney to serve on the Academy’s Board of Directors, having served on the Board since 2013. As ConsiderChapter13.org readers well know, Mark frequently writes articles on Chapter 13 bankruptcy issues for the website and currently writes a recurring column on post-confirmation Chapter 13 issues entitled When Things Don’t Go According to (the) Plan. Leffler succeeds M. Regina Thomas, Clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, as President of the Academy.

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Yet Another Reason Why the Means Test is “Broken”

Thomas D. DeCarlo

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The Bankruptcy Code produces some difficult results. Sometimes those results pass difficult and extend into problematic. The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Idaho crossed well over difficult in In re Clifford, 2022 WL 16727279 (Bankr. D. Id. 2022). The question addressed in Clifford is one that comes up in every Chapter 13 case – how do we calculate “Current...

ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – Dischargeability of Homeowner Association Fees

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By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) Homeowner association fees that obligate homeowners of condominium and planned unit developments can be a substantial obligation that accrue on a monthly basis. These obligations are generally a burden when a debtor files for bankruptcy relief. To be fair, homeowners’ associations provide a significant benefit to homeowners. Exterior maintenance,...

Members

Critical Case Comment – Five Theories of Post-Confirmation Property Treatment

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 26, 2023

In examining the effect of vesting of property of the estate at confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan, bankruptcy court examines the impact of five different theories on how post-confirmation property is to be treated, settling on the “Estate Replenishment Theory,” but does not decide if the debtors can receive the proceeds. (Fenimore) In re Marsh, 2023 WL 215263 (Bankr....

Members

From the Editor – Confirmation

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By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Equal monthly payments and attorney fees. The secured creditor objected to confirmation on basis that the plan improperly deferred its payments until debtor’s attorney fees were paid, and the District Court affirmed confirmation that delayed start of secured equal monthly payments for 21 months. The opinion examines three approaches to the issue: 1)...

Members

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By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Wonk Alert This Part 2 wraps up some suggestions about how the parties to residential mortgages may avoid or minimize problems in the structuring and administration of these loans, with a discussion of subsection 1111(b) of Bankruptcy Code.1 This discussion may seem arcane, as indeed many experienced Chapter 11 practitioners...

Members

The VA Loan Trap: Broken Promises and New Hurdles for Veterans

Roberto Rivera

November 17, 2024

“The VA created a program to capture missed payments and "put them to the end of the loan," but they eliminated it. . . . Many Veterans were forced to accept loan modifications that increased their payments. Those who didn't accept or were denied modifications were promised a new program, VASP.”

Members

SBRA – The Sequel: Leases in Bankruptcy Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (“CAA”)

February 21, 2021

Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Appendix 11 U.S.C. § 365(d)(3) and (4), Showing Changes Made by Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2021 ("CAA"), Pub. L. 116-260, 134 Stat. 1182 (eff. Dec. 27, 2020) (Sunset December 27, 2022. Changes continue to apply in cases commenced before sunset under subchapter V of Chapter 11.) 11 U.S.C. § 365(d)(3) Pre-CAA Post-CAA...

Members

From the Editor – Claims

October 20, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Objection sustained to one-year late proof of claim. The mortgage creditor did not object to confirmation nor file a proof of claim until one year after the bar date in the Chapter 13 case. The trustee objected to the claim, which asserted a higher arrearage than provided for in the confirmed plan. Section...

Members

Think Beyond The Means Test

August 23, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) It started as a means test question: could emergency medical expenses be deemed non consumer debt. It ended up as a step back to get the bigger picture. Well-seasoned bankruptcy counsel brought the fact pattern to a list serve of colleagues. The prospective debtors’ income in a small consulting corporation is declining, his...

Members

Fond Farewell to Danny O’Brien

The Academy

September 25, 2022

Dear Danny, We know that you would not want a tribute – it’s simply not who you are. But we couldn’t let this moment pass without acknowledging how admired and respected you are. We will all miss you and are better for having known you. You are a stellar example of what all humanity should strive to be. As a...