The Unintended Filing Bar – Don’t Ignore MFR on Surrendered Property

Consider if you will that your client has just filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. They have intelligently chosen to surrender a luxury item - a boat or 4-wheeler or even that extra vehicle they don’t need.

Because the creditor would like to preserve the value of the collateral by obtaining possession quickly, they file a Motion for Relief shortly after the case is filed.

You hardly take notice of the motion because once you glance at the Motion for Relief and realize it is for collateral your client has already surrendered, you no longer . . .

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Molly Simons

Senior Bankruptcy Counsel, MDK (Blue Ash, Ohio)

Molly Simons has been a licensed attorney since 2008 after graduating from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University. With an undergraduate degree in Hospitality Food Service Management from Kent State University, Molly is a unique attorney as she approaches the practice of law with a hospitality background. Client’s satisfaction is of the utmost importance to her.

Molly’s primary focus for the first ten years of her practice was as a consumer Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney representing Debtors. She moved to the Creditor side of bankruptcy in 2018 and joined MDK as Senior Attorney in July of 2025.

Molly is licensed in the States of Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and West Virginia and is admitted federally in all federal jurisdictions for Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, West Virginia, Colorado and Wisconsin. She is formally the Co-Chair of the Bankruptcy Committee with the Cincinnati Bar Association and was recently accepted to her second term on the Attorney Advisory Committee for the Southern District of Ohio.

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Critical Case Comment – Post-Petition 401(k) Contributions ARE Disposable Income

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Post-petition voluntary contributions to a 401(k) are not reasonably necessary expenses and are thus included in disposable income in calculating a debtor’s Chapter 13 plan. (Freeman) In re Saldana, 2023 WL 3483241 (N.D. Cal. May 15, 2023) Case Summary In April of 2022, Jorden Marie Saldana filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13. Ms. Saldana was single with no dependents...

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The Unintended Filing Bar – Don’t Ignore MFR on Surrendered Property

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Molly Simons

Senior Bankruptcy Counsel, MDK (Blue Ash, Ohio)

Related Articles

May the Chapter 13 Trustee Keep Fees Paid Before Dismissal?

Bankruptcy Court Finds Jurisdiction to Hear Discharge-Injunction Violation Class Action

Eleventh Circuit Adopts the Path of Leased Resistance in Chapter 13

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From the Editor – Eligibility

The Periphery of Bankruptcy Law: The Importance of Non-Bankruptcy Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy – A Study

From the IRS – Using Strong Password Is a Strong Defense Against Identity Thieves

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Lessons From In Re Chase: Student Loan Discharge and Loan Consolidation

Critical Case Comment – Post-Petition 401(k) Contributions ARE Disposable Income

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