Welcome New Trustee

helblingLauren A. Helbling comes to the Chapter 13 world from private practice where she served as a Chapter 7 panel trustee. Helbling was appointed as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of Ohio on October 1, 2017. Helbling was appointed subsequent to the retirement of Craig Shopneck who served the Cleveland district for fifteen years.

Helbling is an Ohio State graduate, receiving a B.S. in finance, cum laude. She received her juris doctorate from Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1987. She began her legal career as a ‘gator’ (litigator) for the law firm of Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur. She served consecutive Law Clerkships. One for the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and one for the Honorable Judge Randolph Baxter.

After earning her stripes, so to speak, she opened her own practice in 1997 and was appointed as a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee. She was also appointed Chapter 11 Operating Trustee in the A.E.M.M. Properties, Inc. bankruptcy.

Helbling was awarded as one of The Best Lawyers in American, Bankruptcy Law, for 2016 and 2017.

She is co-author with the Honorable Christopher M. Klein of The Emerging Harmless Innocent Omission Defense to Nondischargeability Under Bankruptcy Code Section 523(a)(3)(A): Making Sense of the Controversy Over Reopening Cases and Amending Schedules to Add Omitted Debts. And she is the author of What Constitutes a Timely Response to a Complaint? A Close Review of Bankruptcy Rules 7004, 7012 and 9006.

Helbling is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars on bankruptcy law issues for a variety of professional groups including the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, United States Trustee, and the Ohio Association of Magistrates.

MotorcycleIn her personal life, Helbling is a speed freak . . . no, not drugs . . . boats and motorcycles. She is married to her husband Ken. They spend much of their free time boating on Lake Erie and the Keys. Perhaps we can persuade them to bring the boat to Miami for NACTT 2018! When getting to the water is an obstacle, they hop on their motorcycles and go wherever the wind takes them.

Welcome to the Chapter 13 world, Lauren.

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

Related Articles

Copy of Hildebrand-2016
August 6, 2023
Nothing prohibits the confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan which frontloads the payment of attorney’s fees ahead of payments to secured and other creditors.
Members
January 19, 2020
By Craig Shopneck, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of Ohio Retired It was many months ago when Mike Joseph asked, if, as a retired trustee, would I be interested in writing an article for the NACTT Academy. This may seem like a rather straightforward task but before putting pen to paper I needed time to reflect not...
Members
March 3, 2019
By William Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Retired; Editor/Adviser, The Academy On April 1, 2019, an increase takes effect in those dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code that are subject to adjustment every three years.1 The following increases have significance in everything from the eligibility maximums for filing under Chapters 12 and 13 to the debtor’s exemptions. Relevant Official...
February 2, 2020
By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Class action certification on predominance. The Eleventh Circuit remanded, finding that the District Court had abused its discretion in refusing to certify a class on a predominance theory for former debtors who had obtained discharge of personal liability on residential mortgages and who asserted violations of the FDCPA by a loan servicer. The...
Members
January 6, 2019
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...
February 16, 2020
By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction This series has focused on the four bankruptcy-related bills that were enacted during the 116th Congress and signed into law on August 23, 2019. One bill, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), will be effective February 19, 2020. It appears in its entirety in Appendix B to...
Members
August 25, 2019
Employers who provide paid family and medical leave to their employees might qualify for a credit that can reduce the taxes they owe. It’s called the employer credit for family and medical leave. Here are some facts about the credit to help employers find out if they might be able to claim it. To be eligible, an employer must: Have...
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
April 17, 2022
In re Galloway, 2022 WL 1017951 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. April 5, 2022) A Chapter 13 trustee’s final audit and notice of completion of payments is not necessary or a precondition to the court granting a discharge to a debtor who has satisfied the requirements of § 1328. (Judge Thorne) Case Summary Tara Galloway filed a Chapter 13 petition in May...
Members
gustafson2
Conduit vs. Direct Mortgage Payments – The Case Law To Consider1 The requirement that debtors pay their mortgage payments to their Chapter 13 Trustee as a “conduit” has advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is the fact that the Chapter 13 Trustee’s records are readily accepted by both the court and creditors in the event of a payment dispute. This advantage...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
February 27, 2022
Chapter 13 debtor is not obligated to pay both the disposable income pool and the best interest of creditors test pool to achieve confirmation, only the larger of the two; it is not a manifestation of bad faith that the debtor does not pay both the disposable income pool and the best interest of creditors test amounts. (Altenberger) In re...
Members