What the FICO? Reaffirming Doesn’t Help My Credit Score?

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

Reaffirmation hearings during the pandemic have been difficult, at least for me. The economic risks for debtors are greater. There are uncertainties about the availability of credit, and the availability of suitable vehicles. Prices of used cars have gone up – with stimulus money pushing up the demand for used cars, and a chip shortage making new cars scarce – this also means that the values of the vehicles securing the loans being reaffirmed on may have also gone up.

But the fact that the . . .

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Impact of the Repeal of Cares Act Chapter 13 Plan Modifications: Is It a Death Knell for Cases Beyond 60 Months?

Michael B. Joseph

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Under the CARES Act 11 USC § 1329 was amended to include a temporary provision that permitted confirmed chapter 13 plans to extend the plan term to up to 84 months. To do so, debtors were required to show they were affected by COVID, § 1329(d).i The maximum term under 11 USC §1329(c) has always been 60 months. Under the...

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Annulment of the Automatic Stay: A Concept Whose Time Has Come – And Gone

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By Academy Staff The Automatic Stay is one of the most fundamental aspects of the Bankruptcy Code, providing a Chapter 7 Trustee “breathing room” to investigate Debtor’s financial affairs; and providing Debtors in Chapter 13 time to formulate and confirm a Chapter 13 Plan without facing the imminent loss of assets. Equally important, most Courts have concluded that actions in...

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Bulletin: SBRA Postscript, the Definition of Income, and Changes to Section 1113(b)(1)(B) and (C)

March 29, 2020

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By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Part IV Two More Things Trustees Should Know About the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 Introduction Four bankruptcy-related bills were enacted during the 116th Congress and signed into law on August 23, 2019.1 The legislation affected both business and consumer cases. One bill, the Small Business Reorganization Act of...

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The Continuing Saga of Chapter 13 Trustee Fees in Pre-Confirmation Dismissals

Thomas D. DeCarlo

June 25, 2023

Courts continue to wrestle with the issue of trustee fees in pre-confirmation dismissals. The Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois has now weighed in in In re Johnson, 2023 WL 3406597 (Bankr. N.D. Il. 2023). The facts are pretty typical. Debtor filed for Chapter 13. After 8 months and 8 confirmation hearings, the Court granted Trustee’s request for...

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Avoidance Powers in Chapter 13 – Part 5 of 6

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By John P. Gustafson, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division (Toledo, OH) Click here for Part 1 Click here for Part 2 Click here for Part 3

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The VA Loan Trap: Broken Promises and New Hurdles for Veterans

Roberto Rivera

November 17, 2024

“The VA created a program to capture missed payments and "put them to the end of the loan," but they eliminated it. . . . Many Veterans were forced to accept loan modifications that increased their payments. Those who didn't accept or were denied modifications were promised a new program, VASP.”

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . NOW!!!

The Academy

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Merideth Akers

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“Does wearing these horizontal stripes make me look fat?” My wife, Becky, tells me that clothes with horizontal stripes make one look broad or fat. However, wearing clothes with vertical stripes create the illusion of making one look tall or slim. Smart fashion designers design clothing that creates the illusion that people are something they are not. I must confess...

Why Your Bankruptcy Client Doesn’t Understand You (And How to Fix the Problem)

Cathy Moran

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Bankruptcy terminology, so familiar to lawyers, stymies clients. Even common English words seem to flummox our clients. We are a pair, divided by our common language. Check out Attorney Moran’s Words at War and then add your own to be shared next week.

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