The Case for Conduit Mortgage Payments

Max Gardner’s Top Ten Reasons

The late Waylon Jennings had a hit song years ago called “Sick and Tired of Getting Up Sick and Tired.” The song related to the chronic consumption of alcohol but the analogy to the need for a mandatory rule for mortgage payments through the Chapter 13 Trustee is not that far-fetched. As a debtor’s attorney who has learned through torture, pain and error how to read the Da Vinci Code produced by mortgage servicers, and as a lawyer who has spent countless hours reviewing postal receipts, personal . . .

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O. Max Gardner, III

Attorney

O. Max Gardner, III, currently limits his practice to consumer bankruptcy cases and all consumer claims arising with respect to those cases. He has been widely recognized as the leading consumer attorney in America on “predatory mortgage servicing” in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyers (NACBA) recognized Mr. Gardner as a Champion of Consumer Rights in 2003; named him the Outstanding Consumer Lawyer of 2004 and awarded him The Distinguished Service Award in April of 2013. Gardner has been elected five times as a member of the “Legal Elite” of North Carolina lawyers by his fellow attorneys in a state-wide poll conducted by Business North Carolina magazine. He is the only consumer lawyer who has been named as a North Carolina “Super Lawyer” in the field of consumer law for five consecutive years by Law & Politics and the Charlotte Magazine. Mr. Gardner was named a Top Lawyer in N.C. in 2013 by The Legal Network. Gardner has received the AV Preeminent Award from Martindale Hubbell for the past 22 years, the highest ethical rating for lawyers. He is a long-time member of NACBA and the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) and a frequent national speaker on bankruptcy law, mortgage servicer abuses, and consumer representation. Gardner has also trained thousands of consumer lawyers and legal professionals since 2005, and is the Chief Executive Officer of Max Gardner’s Consumer Defense Academy (pka Max Gardner’s Bankruptcy Boot Camps). Gardner is also “Of Counsel” to the Dallas, Texas firm of Kellett and Bartholow. The firm focuses on major cases against mortgage servicers in consumer bankruptcy cases and on discharge violations by original creditors and the debt-buying industry.

Memorial Day 2023

The Academy

May 28, 2023

Memorial Day 2023 Honoring the Sacrifices of All Who Served

Critical Case Comment

July 26, 2020

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Chapter 13 debtor may include a provision in the Chapter 13 plan that only estimates the duration of the plan and, absent an objection, such provision would cause the debtor’s plan to terminate and the debtor receive a discharge when the claims have been...

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Tax Time Guide: Contribute to an IRA by April 15 to claim it on 2018 tax returns

March 24, 2019

3/19/19 IRS reminded taxpayers that it’s not too late to contribute to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) and still claim it on a 2018 tax return. Anyone with a traditional IRA may be eligible for a tax credit or deduction on their 2018 tax return if they make contributions by April 15, 2019. This news release is part of a...

Engaging a Non-Profit to Solve the Chapter 13 Trustees PSLF Conundrum

March 8, 2020

By Ed Boltz, The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, P.C. (Durham, NC) and Sarah Beth Withers, Inner Banks Legal Services (Washington, NC) DISCLAIMER: This article is not meant to provide specific advice about the formation of a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation or the tax or other consequences of such. At most, this is intended to encourage Chapter 13 trustees and...

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Critical Case Comment – It’s All in the Proof

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

July 9, 2023

Chapter 13 debtor’s failure to provide evidence of a change in financial circumstances justifies the denial of a motion to modify seeking to reduce the dividend and related payments into the plan. (Cleary) In re DeRoo, 650 B.R. 561 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. May 2, 2023) Case Summary Nicole DeRoo filed a Chapter 13 petition in February of 2022. Above-median income...

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From the Editor – Claims

May 16, 2021

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Unpaid filing fee in prior case was unsecured claim. The Chapter 13 trustee moved for authority to pay unpaid filing fee from prior case, but Court denied that to the extent the motion sought payment ahead of unsecured creditors. The unpaid filing fee was nothing more than a general unsecured claim in the...

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Critical Case Comment – Time is of the Essence

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 21, 2023

Chapter 13 plan cannot be modified to treat a priority claim as general unsecured after the time for reconsideration of the order has passed. (Easterbrook) Matter of Terrell, 39 F.4th 888 (7th Cir. July 12, 2022) Case Summary The Terrells’ Chapter 13 plan proposed a classification to pay the State of Wisconsin in full as a priority claim because, they...

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Section 302: Joint but Separate

Queneshia Fleming

September 24, 2023

“The ambiguity of § 302 raises the question:are jointly administered cases two separate estates? If jointly administered cases are two separate estates, are trustees doing it wrong?”

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Topp – Upending Till??

Jody Bledsoe

August 27, 2023

The Eighth Circuit recently released its Topp opinion. At issue was the appropriate starting point for determining the discount rate to be used when paying secured claims under a chapter 12 plan. The debtor, who had gained confirmation of his plan before the bankruptcy court, proposed paying claims to Farm Credit Services over 20 years at a rate based on the...

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Character Counts

Merideth Akers

November 6, 2022

“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...