When someone legally changes their name, there are tax consequences they need to know about, especially at tax time. People change their names for several reasons: Taking their spouse’s last name after a marriage Hyphenating their last name with their spouse’s after getting married Going back to their former name after a divorce Giving an adopted child the last name...

Travis Sasser practices bankruptcy law in Cary, North Carolina. He is a board certified specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy by the American Board of Certification and the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization. He serves on the Bankruptcy Committee for the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization. He is a member of ABI and NACBA. He graduated from the University of...

Victims of March 3rd tornadoes and severe storms in Alabama have until July 31, 2019, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments. The IRS is offering this relief to any Major Disaster Declaration area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual assistance. Currently, this only includes Lee County, Alabama,...

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), became effective February 19, 2020. It appears in its entirety in Appendix B to this...

By Angela M. Scolforo, Staff Attorney to Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee (Charlottesville, VA) In Hurlburt v. Black,1 the en banc Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned its prior decision in Witt,2 and held that Bankruptcy Code § 1322(c)(2) authorizes modification of some home mortgage loans through bifurcation and cram down. This enables debtors to cram down home mortgage...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Objection to proof of claim barred by preclusion. The Chapter 13 debtor objected to Wells Fargo’s proof of claim in an adversary proceeding that alleged the note had been procured by fraud and was unenforceable; but the debtor had previously litigated those and other issues in the state court. Preclusive effect of the...

By Academy Staff Section 1307(b) provides: On request of the debtor at any time, if the case has not been converted under Section 706, Section 1112, or Section 1208, the court shall dismiss a case under this chapter. This seemingly straightforward provision has generated significant litigation and produced multiple conflicting decisions. Does a Debtor have a right to dismiss a...

Chapter 13 debtor’s profligate, pre-petition spending and post-petition lack of candor, demonstrated that the plan was not proposed in good faith and the petition was not filed in good faith. (Frank) In re Ames, 2022 WL 2195469 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. June 17, 2022) Case Summary In April of 2018, after 10 years of marriage, Guy Ames initiated a divorce complaint...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Undistributed funds returned to debtor upon dismissal. Under § 1327(b)’s vesting requirement, unless a confirmed plan provides otherwise, any undistributed funds held by the trustee at dismissal of the case must be returned to the debtor. Although not necessary to rely on § 347(b)(3), the conclusion on effect of vesting at confirmation was...