What’s It Worth to You?

If all the children in Lake Woebegon are above average, all the small businesses our clients run are quite valuable.If the Chapter 13 trustee is asking the question, anyway.

I rail when the Chapter 13 trustee’s business questionnaire asks, “how much would you sell your business for.”

Phrased that way, the question implicates all kinds of facts that aren’t in play in Chapter 13.

First, what would the debtor have to get to part with the business . . .

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moran_cathy

Head of Moran Law Group

Cathy Moran has headed her own small firm Moran Law Group in Mountain View, California, for nearly 30 years. Family law and tax issues as they play out in bankruptcy are areas of particular interest to Cathy.

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By Michael J. McCormick, Esq., McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC (Roswell, GA) The History of Escrow Treatment in Bankruptcy Prior to 2008 Unfortunately, the case law in this area is sparse. The earliest reported case I found discussing a mortgage servicer’s obligations with respect to escrow accounts after the filing of a bankruptcy case was McCormack v. Federal Home Loan...
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By Eric K. Fox, Esq. (Hendersonville, TN) Jane Debtor has a home with a mortgage. An unsecured creditor obtains a judgment against Jane for, say, a credit card debt. Creditor’s attorney records a certified copy of the judgement order with the county register of deeds, thereby converting the unsecured claim against Jane in personam, to a secured claim against her...
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Taxpayers with expiring Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) can get their ITINs renewed more quickly and avoid refund delays next year by submitting their renewal application soon, the Internal Revenue Service said 10/10/19. An ITIN is a tax ID number used by taxpayers who don’t qualify to get a Social Security number. Any ITIN with middle digits 83, 84 ....
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Mention keeping time records to a bankruptcy lawyer and you’re likely met with expressions of utter revulsion. All too many assert that the major appeal of being a bankruptcy lawyer is precisely that they don’t have to keep time. Between flat fee deals with clients, and no look fees in Chapter 13, they feel liberated from the clock and the...
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By Mark C. Leffler, Boleman Law Firm, PC (Richmond, Hampton, and Va. Beach, VA) Part I: Derby v. Portfolio Recovery Associates Recently, Hon. Keith L. Phillips of the Eastern District of Virginia Bankruptcy Court issued his fourth and final written opinion in the Derby v. Portfolio Recovery Associates adversary proceeding, Adv. Pro. No. 18-03097-KLP, 2020 Bankr. LEXIS 2589 (Bankr. E.D.Va....
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Larry Ahern this week concludes a two-part examination of whether a Chapter 13 trustee may retain fees paid without a confirmed plan before dismissal. Part 1 analyzed McCallister v. Evans, a recent case accepting the trustee's position considering a division in the caselaw and analyzing relevant statutes. In this Part 2, he turns to the debtor's case, which has substantial...
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Chapter 13 plans and confirmation orders will occasionally include post-confirmation disclosure and turnover requirements for tax returns and refunds and for other types of post-petition recoveries and income. Debtors are expected, on their own and without the need for rigorous trustee oversight, to fulfill the turnover requirements as a condition of plan completion and discharge. What happens when the case...
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