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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Cathy Moran, Esq.

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.

Escrow 102 – Part 2 of 4

October 3, 2021

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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Less Than 100% Dividend Can a Chapter 13 Plan be Paid off Early?

April 21, 2019

By Stacey A. O’Stafy, Staff Attorney, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee Faye D. English (Columbus, OH) An above median Chapter 13 debtor settles a workers’ compensation claim and wants to use the exempt settlement proceeds1 to pay off her 100% dividend plan in month 38 – can she? In this simple scenario, the answer is yes. Pursuant to 11...

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Can a Secured Claim Still “Ride-Through” Bankruptcy Despite BAPCPA? – Part 1 In re Rhodes Says, “Let Me Count the Ways”

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

January 30, 2022

Background A recent Chapter 7 case out of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, In re Rhodes,1 addresses reaffirmation in a context that is very significant and should be of interest to all debtor's attorneys. It points out that the "ride-through" of a debtor's secured debt in Chapter 7—which Congress tried to eliminate in 2005—still exists. In...

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Is a CARES Act Stimulus Payment Exempt?

April 26, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction Since April 1, 2020, many unemployed people in the United States have begun to receive "a recovery benefit" in the amount of $1,200.1 These payments, under the CARES Act2 stimulus program, were intended to provide some relief to suffering Americans. However, the most financially distressed Americans, perhaps with existing,...

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Navigating Secured Creditors Who File Unsecured Chapter 13 Claims

October 31, 2021

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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2 Million ITINs Set to Expire in 2019; To Avoid Refund Delays Apply Soon

October 13, 2019

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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4 Reasons to Keep Time Records No One Discusses

Cathy Moran

July 17, 2022

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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Recent Trends in the Interpretation of Midland v. Johnson and the Applicability of the FDCPA to Bankruptcy Cases

January 3, 2021

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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May the Chapter 13 Trustee Keep Fees Paid Before Dismissal? – Part 2

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

April 24, 2022

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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In Re Carter: A Hard Case (Maybe) Making Bad Law?

Owen W. Katz

May 21, 2023

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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