Escrow 101 – Part 2 of 3

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Wonk Alert This Part 2 wraps up some suggestions about how the parties to residential mortgages may avoid or minimize problems in the structuring and administration of these loans, with a discussion of subsection 1111(b) of Bankruptcy Code.1 This discussion may seem arcane, as indeed many experienced Chapter 11 practitioners...

By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Debtor’s Attorney - Chapter 13 no-look fee subject to Hawai’i’s general excise tax. Construing the State’s excise tax, the Chapter 13 debtor’s attorney could not collect the required excise tax in addition to the agreed upon no-look fee. The district’s Rights and Responsibilities Agreement between debtor and attorney did not contain...

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...

Bankruptcy lawyers regularly evaluate the dischargeability of taxes when deciding when to file a client’s bankruptcy case. At base, the 3 year rule, the 2 year rule, and the 240 day rule routinely drive timing of a bankruptcy. But as we approach the end of the tax year, a client’s current year tax situation becomes another moving part in the...

Remember Mort. Corp. of the South v. Bozeman (In re Bozeman), 57 F. 4th 895 (11th Cir. 2023)? That was the recent 11th Circuit case previously reviewed by Lawrence Ahern on this site. It was the Chapter 13 version of The Perfect Storm.  The Debtor proposed to pay the principal balance of her mortgage ($17 . . . It looks...

By John P. Gustafson, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division A. Property Acquired After The Filing Of The Chapter 13 Case: The Different Approaches. 1. Property Acquired Post-Petition vs. Property “Vesting In The Debtor”. Click here for Part 2 The broad issue of what becomes property of the Chapter 13 estate post-petition involves consideration of two...

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Clouds of uncertainty have hovered over Chapter 13 debtors who find that they need to sell appreciated property before the case is over. Does appreciation occurring after filing go to creditors on the theory that the appreciation is property of the estate? Or does the vesting of property at confirmation entitle the debtor...