Thoughts on the Law: Stay at the Crossroads - The Code of the Wild, Wild West? • NACTT Academy

Thoughts on the Law: Stay at the Crossroads – The Code of the Wild, Wild West?

By The Honorable John P. Gustafson, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Ohio (Toledo)

There are two legal battles going on that may end up being dysfunctionally related….

1. What Happens If The Automatic Stay Is Not Extended In A “Second Case Pending Within One Year”?

A split of authority has been percolating since 2005, involving the all too common case, where a debtor with a second bankruptcy case pending within one year has failed to seek an extension of the automatic stay within the 30-day statutory time period. The issue that divides the . . .

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Critical Case Comment – Topping Off the Risk Factor

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

September 3, 2023

To pay present value to a secured creditor, a reorganization plan may start with a treasury rate and add a risk factor and need not start with a prime rate plus a risk factor.

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Taxpayers with Expiring ITINs Should Renew Them Now

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Taxpayers with expiring individual taxpayer identification numbers should renew their number ASAP. There are nearly 2 million ITINs set to expire at the end of 2019. Taxpayers with an expiring number should renew before the end of this year. This will help avoid unnecessary delays related to their tax refunds next year. ITINs are used by taxpayers required to file...

Rules, Means-Test Amounts and Miscellaneous Fees: Changes Wrap Up 2020

November 15, 2020

Lawrence R. Ahern, III Brown & Ahern Nashville, Tennessee Appendix B Adjustments to Means Test Amounts (Cases Filed On or After November 1, 2020) The tables on the following page provide median family income adjustments reproduced in a format designed for ease of use in completing Bankruptcy Forms 122A-1 and 122C-1. STATE 1 EARNER FAMILY SIZE 2 PEOPLE 3 PEOPLE...

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How To Manage Incompetent, Unprepared, and Negligent Bankruptcy Counsel

The NACTT Emeritus Trustees

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Previously the Emeritus Trustees (“ETC”) were asked to comment on “How to Manage Unprofessional and Discourteous Attorneys”. We now turn to ETC to share their collective wisdom when addressing the issues raised by incompetent, unprepared, and negligent bankruptcy counsel. Chapter 13 Trustees are required to administer cases in accordance with the duties set forth in 11 U.S.C. Sec. 1302 and...

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Critical Case Comment – Objection to Entire Housing Allowance Overruled

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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This is a potential BIGGIE . . . Where a Chapter 13 debtor incurs one relatively small expense covered by the IRS Local Standards, the debtor is entitled to deduct from CMI the entire allowance to calculate Projected Disposable Income.

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Critical Case Comment – How Much Is It Worth – Then/Now?

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 22, 2023

On a trustee’s motion to modify a confirmed Chapter 13 plan, Court required debtor to commit funds to unsecured creditors based upon the previously undisclosed equity generated from post-petition sale of property. (Warren) In re Croniser, 2022 WL 3639413 (Bankr. E.D. N.C. August 23, 2022) Case Summary Duane Croniser filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13 in January of 2020....

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Critical Case Comment – Pigs Get Fat/Hogs Get Slaughtered

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

March 19, 2023

Below-median Chapter 13 debtor bears the burden of justifying a plan longer than three years as confirmation of a five-year plan would be denied as providing insufficient justification to exceed three years. (Robinson) In re Ingram, 2023 WL 2529730 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. March 15, 2023) Case Summary Danny Ingram filed four bankruptcy cases over 20 years. He was single with...

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In the Trenches: Secrets to Settlement – Competency in the Courtroom Part 3 of 3

June 23, 2019

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Trustee (Topeka, KS) Click here for Part 1 of 3 Click here for Part 2 of 3 19. In the Courtroom ― Leading Questions Learning how to conduct a direct examination of your witnesses is the cornerstone to your case. Early . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This...

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Bankruptcy Court Broadly Interprets “Engaged in Business” Requirement for Subchapter V Eligibility

May 23, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado ruled recently, in a case styled In re Ikalowych,1 that while eligibility for subchapter V of Chapter 112 requires that 50% of a debtor's debt must arise from commercial or business activities, the debtor was not required to be directly involved...

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The Unintended Filing Bar – Don’t Ignore MFR on Surrendered Property

Molly Simons

June 26, 2022

Consider if you will that your client has just filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. They have intelligently chosen to surrender a luxury item - a boat or 4-wheeler or even that extra vehicle they don’t need. Because the creditor would like to preserve the value of the collateral by obtaining possession quickly, they file a Motion for Relief shortly after...

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