6 Steps to Ethical Unbundling of Bankruptcy Representation

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA)

No matter how many hoops the client dutifully jumped through, without adequate inquiry and communication, the bankruptcy attorney was slammed for unbundling his services.

The representation agreement at issue excluded representation in any adversary proceeding filed, as do most such agreements, I imagine.

The client initialed every paragraph of the 19-paged representation agreement, and the appeals court still sanctioned the attorney over the agreement.Turns out, a long agreement and the client’s . . .

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Tax Form 1099 Needs A Closer Look: Chances Are It’s Wrong

April 14, 2019

By William J. Purdy, III, Simmons & Purdy (Soquel, CA) Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in the past few weeks have looked at or at least thought about, Form 1099-A or Form 1099-C documents they have received. Some arrived in the tax year a debt was allegedly cancelled. Others are issued by financial instructions many years after they should have...

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Reconversion to Chapter 13 – Betwixt and Between?

Michael B. Joseph

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“Is it possible to voluntarily convert a chapter 13 case to chapter 7, and later reconvert back to chapter 13? There is a split of authority on whether this maneuver is allowed.”

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Critical Case Comment

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By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Section 506(d) does not allow the voiding of a lien when the underlying claim, filed by the debtor, has been disallowed; when notice is provided to a corporation it must be addressed to the individual who holds the office of an officer, manager, or general...

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2022 Bankruptcy Procedure Year in Review: Revised Statute and Rules and Selected Cases Part 10 Once Again: The Supreme Court Hands Down a Procedure Rule in Dupree v. Younger

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

June 11, 2023

Introduction This series reviews developments in bankruptcy procedure during the past year. One new rule and amendments to 16 rules took effect December 1, 2022. Many reflected changes necessitated by the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), and had been in place in the same or similar form on an interim basis since that legislation took effect.

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The Hunt for Deductible Interest – Money Too Often Left on the Table

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By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) One of the mysteries of Chapter 13 is why mortgage lenders don’t send an IRS 1098 for mortgage payments made through a Chapter 13 plan. And without that reminder piece of paper, our clients don’t realize that much of what the trustee pays to mortgage creditors is deductible interest. Miss that deduction and...

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ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – What Does It Mean to Surrender?

November 24, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) One of the most confusing elements in consumer bankruptcy practice is the effect of electing the option given in § 1325(a)(5)(C) or § 521(a)(2). Section 521(a)(2) requires every debtor to file a statement of intent that indicates whether the debtor intends to “surrender or retain” estate property which secured...

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Keep Calm and Carry On – Observations Regarding CBRA

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

October 9, 2022

First, breathe deep and try to relax. The Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative House Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, with minimal notice, set an oversight hearing for September 29, 2022. The subcommittee is charged to deal with matters relating to bankruptcy. The subject of the hearing was to be the “Oversight of the Bankruptcy Code, Part 2: Ensuring a Fresh...

Ninth Circuit BAP Says§ 523(a)(15) Includes §§ 523(a)(2), (4) and (6) in Chapter 7

M. Jonathan Hayes

January 28, 2024

Does § 523(a)(15) include claims by a spouse against the other spouse for fraud etc, i.e., §§ 523(a)(2), (4) and (6), in a chapter 7 case?

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Small Business Reorganization Act…(“SBRA”) H.R. 3311 – PART ONE

September 15, 2019

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Topeka, KS) “I do not suggest my thoughts here are anywhere close to exhaustive. . . . Of course, my thoughts may be off mark on one or more items, but the discussions need to start somewhere, so here we go…” See also: 2019 Legislation Affecting Bankruptcy Practice – Overview

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From the Editor

March 31, 2019

By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Debtor’s Attorney - Chapter 13 debtors not required to seek approval to employ special counsel. The Chapter 13 debtors moved to employ special counsel for representation in state-court litigation, but § 327(e) did not apply to Chapter 13 debtors when no request was being made to pay the special counsel from...

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