As we observe the growing discussion over the tremendous amount of outstanding student loan debt, several points of clarification might do us well. There are those favoring relief for debtors now unable to pay their student loans. They have proposed various forms of relief, including several forgiveness programs and re-allowing such debts to be discharged in bankruptcy under more usual...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Failure to pay postpetition fees under Rule 3002.1 did not prevent discharge. The debtor had completed payments to the trustee and postpetition mortgage payments to the creditor, but she had not paid $1,370 in postpetition fees that had been asserted by the mortgage creditor and noticed to the debtor under Rule 3002.1. That...

“Why do I need the FDCPA if there’s already a remedy under Rule 3001?” This is what the bankruptcy judge asked me when I brought an adversary proceeding against a claims buyer, alleging potential class claims under both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and Bankruptcy Rule 3001(c)(2). The defendant had a business practice of filing high volumes of...

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...

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) It started as a means test question: could emergency medical expenses be deemed non consumer debt. It ended up as a step back to get the bigger picture. Well-seasoned bankruptcy counsel brought the fact pattern to a list serve of colleagues. The prospective debtors’ income in a small consulting corporation is declining, his...

By Hon. William Houston Brown, Adviser, Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education and Margaret A. Burks, Chapter 13 Trustee (Cincinnati, OH) Senator Elizabeth Warren (D. Mass.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D. N.Y.) have introduced the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020. Introduction of the Act is only the beginning of the legislative process, and no action toward enactment...

Taxpayers may need to take money out of their individual retirement account or retirement plan early. However, this can trigger an additional tax on top of other income tax they may owe. Here are a few key things for taxpayers to know: Early Withdrawals. An early withdrawal normally is taking cash out of a retirement plan before the taxpayer is...

By Kara K. Gendron, Esquire, Mott & Gendron Law (Harrisburg, PA) If a Chapter 13 Debtor has adopted a child who is eligible for assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, should those funds which were received in the six months prior to filing the petition be included in the Official Form 122C–1 Chapter 13 Statement of Current...