From the Editor – Property of Estate and Exemptions

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Waiver of state exemptions. Under California’s opt out and exemption laws, debtors in bankruptcy have a choice of state exemption schemes—one only for those filing bankruptcy and the regular exemptions. The regular exemptions have a more generous homestead, while the bankruptcy exemptions have a smaller homestead but more generous wildcard. Each joint debtor must execute a waiver of the regular exemptions in order to use the special bankruptcy-only exemptions, and absent waiver, the regular exemptions apply by default. When one joint debtor executed a waiver but . . .

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The “Snapshot” Rule – Part 1: The Circuits Begin to Line Up

March 14, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Exemptions are determined at the time the debtor files for bankruptcy. … This maxim is called the "snapshot" rule because the debtor's financial situation is frozen in time, as if someone had taken a snapshot of it.1 Recent Caselaw The First and Ninth Circuits On March 1, the Ninth Circuit...

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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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There is NO MORE Form 1040A or 1040EZ – Six New Schedules Some Taxpayers Will File with New Form 1040

March 17, 2019

The 2018 Form 1040 replaces prior year Forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ. The 2018 Form 1040 uses a building-block approach that allows individuals to file only the schedules they need with their federal tax return. Many people will only need to file Form 1040 and no schedules. Electronic filers may not notice these changes as the tax software will automatically...

Creditors’ Rights and Debtors’ Protections at the Intersection of Consumer Bankruptcy and UCC Article 9

November 29, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART VI – CONSUMER FORECLOSURE PROCEDURES (CONCLUSION) Introduction In the consumer bankruptcy field, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). In this series for the NACTT Academy, we have looked at numerous topics involving the interplay of Article...

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Honorable Kevin R. Anderson, U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Utah

April 7, 2019

Prior to his appointment as a bankruptcy judge for the District of Utah in September of 2015, Judge Anderson served for seventeen years as the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Utah. During this time, he administered over 70,000 Chapter 13 cases. Judge Anderson was elected president of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT), and he...

Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

Nancy B. Rapoport

August 7, 2022

Dear Readers: When a judge issues a 28-page opinion sanctioning a lawyer, usually that means that the lawyer has done so many things wrong that he or she has caused the judge to roll up his or her respective sleeves (probably shirt-sleeves, although the image of robe-sleeves also works for me) to deal with the mess. And in Shiheiber v....

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From the Editor – Claims

February 9, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Unreasonable fees for proof of claim. $4,000 fee for private mortgagee’s proof of claim and objection to proposed plan was unreasonable, and creditor was denied recovery of $7,500 attorney fee for responding to debtor’s objection to proof of claim. The Court considered Fannie Mae’s guidelines for maximum fees related to proof of claim...

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Chapter 13 Trustee Duties, Powers, and Limitations

October 4, 2020

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama Who appoints the standing chapter 13 trustee? The United States Trustee appoints the standing chapter 13 trustee for each judicial district where the UST system is in place, while the court appoints the standing chapter 13 trustee under the Bankruptcy Administrator program. See 11 U.S.C. § 1302...

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It Takes a Village

September 29, 2019

By Katherine B. Brewer, Esq. (Westerville, OH) One of the first things we focus on in law school (other than the Rule Against Perpetuities, which always brings back fond memories), is that our clients come first. We learn the complexities of the law, memorize rule statements, and read thousands of pages of case law in order to learn how best...

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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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