From the Editor – Property of Estate and Exemptions

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Timing of lien avoidance in Chapter 13. Chapter 13 debtor’s avoidance of judgment lien that impaired homestead exemption would be effective immediately to allow recognition of homestead exemption for purposes of plan confirmation, but would not be effective for other purposes until completion of plan and entry of discharge. This would permit the debtors to treat the creditor holding that avoided lien as unsecured in their plan, but the lien would not be completely avoided until the plan was completed and discharge entered. In the event of dismissal . . .

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Overruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law – A Book Review

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“What, he [Gorsuch] explains, jumped out at me is that not only are there too many laws and administrative rules, but there are too many laws and rules created by agencies -- by individuals not chosen by we the people, and often in the far-away land we call Washington.”

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“ . . . creditor couldn’t fetch a break. . . . Court first found that the state court judgment was void because it was entered after the discharge order. . . . also found the creditor in contempt of the discharge injunction.”

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Failure of a pro se debtor to pay the third installment of filing fees justifies dismissal of the case; debtor’s failure to submit a brief in compliance with Rule 8014 justifies a 180-day bar on refiling.

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What IS a Principal Residence?

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By Phil Lamos, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee Lauren A. Helbling (Cleveland, OH) Section 1322(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code states that a Chapter 13 plan may not modify a claim that is “secured only by a security interest in real property that is the debtor’s principal residence.” But the inverse of this statute is true; if...

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Wholly Unsecured Junior Liens in Chapter 13: The Lien Strip Dance

Michael B. Joseph

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“ . . . practice and procedure accomplishing the lien strip have been slow to evolve since 2017. . . . in the jurisdictions that opted out of usage of the Form 113 Plan, multiple iterations for lien stripping and release are found.”

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From the Editor – Plan Modification

June 7, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) HAVEN Act applied to modification when plan was confirmed prior to Act becoming law. The debtor proposed a plan modification deleting from disposable income $1,789 monthly VA disability benefits. First concluding that the HAVEN Act was applicable law at time of this decision, nothing in the Act, its legislative history or the Official...

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Escrow 101 and 102

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In the fall of 2021, Michael McCormick provided subscribers with an EXCELLENT, expository, seven-part outline on mortgage escrow. This information is just as relevant today as when we first published it with one important update . . . When the next escrow analysis is performed and the servicer has received less than 12 payments of escrow (and often zero, as is often the case after the borrower received a forbearance during the COVID pandemic), the escrow balance will be far less than anticipated!!

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This is a must read for everyone. Trustee Jaworski provides readers an excellent handbook on AI as we know it now - what it is; how it is being used in the law; ethical considerations; and even court decisions.

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From the Editor – Property of Estate and Exemptions

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Related Articles

Overruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law – A Book Review

Barking Up the Wrong Tree: A Canine Conundrum

Unmet Installments Means Dismissal for Pro Se

What IS a Principal Residence?

Wholly Unsecured Junior Liens in Chapter 13: The Lien Strip Dance

Means Test Webinar

Small Business Reorganization Act

From the Editor – Plan Modification

Escrow 101 and 102

Will Artificial Intelligence Run Wild on the Legal Profession?

Academy

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