By Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Western District of Virginia (Charlottesville) If you’re looking for a well-written and clear appellate opinion about a much-litigated topic, with a bit of ancient mythology thrown in for good measure, this HUD’s for you. The case is Wood v. U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (In re Larry and...

By Anthony J. Gomez, CPA, former extern to the Honorable John P. Gustafson, Northern District of Ohio at Toledo V. The Good Faith Requirement The hanging paragraph was enacted to protect creditors. It accomplishes this by prohibiting the bifurcation of certain secured debts that were acquired shortly before the time of filing. Despite a Chapter 13 debtor’s inability to bifurcate...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Chapter 7 debtor may successfully discharge student loan obligations by satisfying the basic holding of Brunner v. N.Y. State Higher Education Servs. Corp. rather than satisfying the judicial gloss added by subsequent decisions. Rosenberg v. N.Y. State Higher Education Servs. Corp., 2020 WL 130302...

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland recently appointed Mary Ida Townson as the U.S. Trustee for Florida, Georgia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Region 21). Ms. Townson assumed her duties in June and replaced Nancy Gargula, who is the U.S. Trustee in Region 10 and who had served as the interim U.S. Trustee in Region 21...

When Does The Bankruptcy Code Require The Payment Of Interest On Unsecured Claims In Chapter 13? I. Introduction This article primarily discusses the interpretation and application of § 1325(b)(1)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code in relation to the payment of interest to general unsecured creditors in chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. Section 1325(b)(1)(A) generally states that a court may not approve a chapter...

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama When do the trustee’s duties end, and who gets the money? Harris v. Viegelahn, 135 S. Ct. 1829 (2015). This opinion of the unanimous Court requires the trustee to return to the debtor undistributed plan payments—originating from wages earned postpetition—on hand at a good-faith, post-confirmation conversion rather...

The debtors will miss him. The creditors will miss him. Even more, his colleagues will miss him. Michael Joseph has served as the Chapter 13 Trustee in Delaware since 1987. He is retiring March 31, 2022. He has served with competence and excellence. The debtors will miss him because he treated them with dignity and compassion. The creditors knew they...

IRS issued the 2019 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 58 cents per mile driven for business use, up 3.5 cents from...