Pigs, Hogs & Nest Eggs: When Is It “Too Much, Too Late” for Retirement Fund Contributions in Chapter 13?

By Lacey S. Bryan, Staff Attorney at the Office of Lonnie D. Eck, Chapter 13 Trustee, Tulsa, OK

In times of financial stress many people dip into their retirement funds to make ends meet. Some people take loans from their retirement funds, while others simply liquidate some or all of the available funds. Imagine a debtor who has completely liquidated all of her retirement fund in order to pay her bills. Knowing that the collectors will soon stop calling and that her debts will be dealt with during bankruptcy, it might be tempting, or even seem reasonable, to . . .

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Amended Rule 2002(a)(5) – Who Gets Served and Who Petitions the Court for Change?

November 22, 2020

By Phil Lamos, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee Lauren A. Helbling (Cleveland, OH) Bankruptcy Rule 2002(a)(5) directs that 21 days’ notice must be given of the “time fixed to accept or reject a proposed modification of a [Chapter 13] plan.” But to whom must notice be given? Specifically, which creditors need to be given notice? This...

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Critical Case Comment

December 27, 2020

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Section 506(d) does not allow the voiding of a lien when the underlying claim, filed by the debtor, has been disallowed; when notice is provided to a corporation it must be addressed to the individual who holds the office of an officer, manager, or general...

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Bankruptcy Courts Grapple with the “COVID-19 Discharge” – Appendix B

April 18, 2021

Bankruptcy Courts Grapple with the “COVID-19 Discharge” APPENDIX B Side-by-Side Comparison of 11 U.S.C. § 1328(b)-(i) and 11 U.S.C. § 1141(d)(5)(B)-(C) 11 U.S.C. § 1328(b)-(i) Discharge 11 U.S.C. § 1141(d)(5)(B)-(C) Effect of Confirmation (b) Subject to subsection (d), at any time after the confirmation of the plan and after notice and a hearing, the court may grant a discharge ....

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Taxes, Offset, and Mutuality

October 13, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Bankruptcy lawyers are accustomed to evaluating the dischargeability of taxes when deciding when to file a client's bankruptcy case. But as we approach the end of the tax year, a client’s current year tax situation becomes another moving part in the “when do we file” analysis. In the simplest situation, the client owes...

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Meet the Newest Trustee

February 16, 2020

Although she steps into very large shoes, Julie Philippi is a welcome addition to the Chapter 13 Trustee fraternity. Ms. Philippi was appointed as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Western District of New York on January 1, 2020. Those large shoes were left by retiring NACTT icon, Albert Mogavero. “Al” served as Standing Trustee for 42 years (yep,...

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The Long Reach of R. 3002.1

Cathy Moran

August 20, 2023

What are the consequences of a secured lender’s failure to comply with R. 3002.1 in a prior case when the debtor files again? Significant, it seems. . . . since their attorney said he “didn’t see the need” to do so. [Can you guess, now, how this comes out?]

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ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – A Chapter 7 Trustee’s Sale of Encumbered Property

July 7, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) The Commission heard from several individuals and attorneys that related tales of Chapter 7 trustees negotiating a “carve out” with a lienholder on the debtor’s real property when there was no equity available in the property. The way this works is that when property came into a Chapter 7...

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Postpetition Borrowing by a Consumer Debtor in Chapter 13 – Part 2 of 2

May 12, 2019

By Judge Michael A. Fagone & Career Law Clerk Ciera S. Dye III. Policy Considerations Where the statute does not provide definitive guidance, courts often turn to policy considerations. How do those considerations weigh out here? One answer is that policy considerations cut against imposing any sort of requirement of preapproval for postpetition borrowing by a consumer debtor. Several reasons...

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City of Chicago v. Fulton And the Turnover Conundrum

January 24, 2021

By Kara K. Gendron, Esquire, Mott & Gendron Law (Harrisburg, PA) The recent Supreme Court decision in City of Chicago v. Fulton1 will change the law in most Circuits. Prior to this case, there was a split among the circuits as to whether the post-petition retention of property taken pre-petition constitutes a violation of the automatic stay under §362(a)(3) of...

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When The Marital Community Doesn’t Get a Bankruptcy Discharge

Cathy Moran

November 13, 2022

Community property works differently in bankruptcy. I probably don’t have to tell you that. On the issue of assets and debts, community property is pretty straightforward. All of the community property comes into the estate upon the commencement of a bankruptcy case, even when only one spouse files. §541(a)(2). Every creditor with a right to be paid from the community...

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