By The Honorable Guy R. Humphrey, Southern District of Ohio It is with heavy hearts that we in Dayton, Ohio say our farewells to Jeff Kellner as our Chapter 13 Trustee. Jeff will be concluding his duties as the Trustee on September 30th and handing the reins over to John Jansing on October 1st. Listing Jeff’s contributions to the bankruptcy...

Introduction Following Part 1's review of the December 1, 2021 changes in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and Part 2's digest of selected judicial decisions of interest for their procedural import . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members. Join Now Or Sign In Below: Username or...

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...

Small business owners, self-employed people, and some wage earners should look into whether they should make estimated tax payments this year. Doing so can help them avoid an unexpected tax bill and possibly a penalty when they file next year. Everyone must pay tax as they earn income. Taxpayers who earn a paycheck usually have their employer withhold tax from...

Introduction In In re Village Apothecary, Inc.,1 the Sixth Circuit last month reduced an attorney's fees by half, where the professional's services were not "successful." The results obtained (or, actually, the lack of results) justified cutting the fees of attorneys for a Chapter 7 trustee by 50%. Why It Matters to Chapter 13 People This analysis of the implications of...

Upon this auspicious occasion, seeing before us this eloquence of attorneys, let us recount the mighty deeds of one Herbert Lee Beskin. WHEREAS, Herbert was born and began his legal career in the last century (or we presume); and WHEREAS, a double Hoo, Herbert graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in 1972, and stayed in Charlottesville to...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Post-petition, pre-conversion equity that accrues in a debtor’s residence during the pendency of a Chapter 13 plan is property of the estate in the Chapter 7 estate following conversion.  (Hastings) Goetz v. Weber (In re Goetz), 651 B.R. 292 (8th Cir. BAP, June 1,...

A golf cart is a motor vehicle and may be exempted by a Chapter 7 debtor under state law. (Loyd) In re Smith, 2022 WL 3023209 (Bankr. W.D. Okla. July 28, 2022) Case Summary Bobby Smith filed a Chapter 7 petition and listed his golf cart as an exempt asset under Oklahoma law because it was a “motor vehicle.” The...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtor had no authority under § 544. Discussing the split of authority, the Court adopted the majority view that the Code gives § 544 avoidance authority exclusively to the trustee, and the Chapter 13 debtor could not use that power to avoid a mortgage lien. In re Dobbs, _________B.R._________, 2019 WL...

By John P. Gustafson, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division Click here for Part 1 Click here for Part 2 C. What Post-Petition Assets Are Property . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members. Join Now Or Sign In Below: Username or E-mail: