Breaking Down the Flaws in the Arguments Against Interest to Unsecured Creditors Under § 1325(b)

By Ken Siomos, Staff Attorney to Chapter 13 Trustee John H. Germeraad (Springfield, IL)

A significant developing split in Chapter 13 practice exists on the question of whether the disposable income test under § 1325(b) can ever require interest to unsecured creditors. Even in these hyper-polarized political times, there would likely be broad frustration by Americans of all views with the existence of about a dozen conflicting opinions on whether “the value, as of the effective date of the plan..,”i means something different from, “as of the effective date of the plan . . .

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Passing of a Legend

June 13, 2021

By Kara L. West, CPA, Chapter 12/13 Standing Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Chattanooga); Successor Trustee to C. Kenneth Still C. Kenneth Still was a legend. “Always with Barbara at this side, he epitomized qualities I think we all seek—honesty, diligence, kindness, and patience. He was a great mentor and a quick wit, and I miss him already....

Separately Classifying Student Loans in Chapter 13

Scott Waterman

May 12, 2024

Big news . . . Sneak peak . . . Coming in July . . . You are gonna want this article (just sayin’) Starting July 1st, Chapter 13 debtors in Federal Student Loan income-driven repayment plans will no longer need to classify their student loans separately to receive IDR credit. Credit towards forgiveness will be awarded for each month of trustee payments, regardless of payments made directly to the Department of Education.

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Trustee May Use Any Law Available to Avoid a Transfer

March 17, 2019

By Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Virginia (Charlottesville) *Special thanks to Gretchen D. Holland for editing this article. Facts In Vieira v. Gaither (In re Gaither), Bankr. D. S.C., # 18-01317-dd, Adv. Pro. 18 80040-dd, Chapter 7 case; 11/30/18 opinion (Duncan); 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 3816, the Debtors’ son died in an aviation accident in...

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Honoring Jan Sensenich

Dynele Schinker-Kuharich

September 29, 2024

Jan Sensenich is retiring today . . . . Bidding farewell to Jan is no easy task. He has been a well-respected Chapter 12 Trustee and Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for 33 years . . . We love and will miss you, Jan, but won’t miss you too much! Jan plans to continue writing for ConsiderChapter13.org!!

Why Address Formatting Is So Important for Jurisdiction

October 24, 2021

By Jay S. Jump, CEO, CertificateofService.com (Pasco, WA) My guess is you initially saw the title of this article and promptly pressed right on past it. Who needs to learn how to properly address an envelope? You didn’t spend three years in law school plus all that money in student loans to address an envelope! But, If the purpose of...

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Evidentiary Issues Arising from Attempts to Prove Alleged “Facts” Stated in The Monster Mash

October 27, 2019

By Alexander Schmidt1, Law Clerk, and The Honorable John P. Gustafson, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio (Toledo) You have never heard – or seen – the Monster Mash. What have you heard, is a song ABOUT the Monster Mash. Let that sink in for a minute. Inevitably, that leads to the obvious question: What facts...

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Measuring Success in Chapter 13: Successful Dismissals and Conversions

Honorable Brian D. Lynch

July 16, 2023

A. Introduction When should we regard dismissal or conversion of a chapter 13 as an unsuccessful bankruptcy? The arguments are familiar.Chapter 13 is the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way to stop foreclosures, repossessions, and garnishments by creditors.Desperate debtors can file a chapter 13 case without schedules, statements, or a plan and buy themselves a stay for a short period. And...

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Finding Your Village: An Introductory Guide to Bringing Fair Credit Reporting Act Claims for Clients Post-Bankruptcy

Emily Connor Kennedy

July 24, 2022

I hope that you’ve enjoyed the articles from Mark Leffler and Steve Relyea discussing how our firm began litigating against creditors in bankruptcy court and mortgage servicers in federal district court. In this (final) installment, I will discuss our entry into Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation. Our firm’s history with Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation is intertwined with the relationships...

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ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – Remedies for Discharge Violation

May 12, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Trustee (Nashville, TN) One of the principle goals of a consumer that chooses to file bankruptcy is to obtain a discharge under § 524. Despite its importance, however, there is much more legal discussion on the logistics and the process of automatic stay under § 362 that is in existence during the pendency...

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

August 30, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART II – BASICS OF PERFECTION OF SECURITY INTERESTS Introduction Current circumstances, with a pandemic and a recession, portend a wave of bankruptcy filings. In the consumer bankruptcy field, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in UCC Article 9. In this space, we have previously looked...

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