Duty to Update Trustee Regarding Changes Post-Plan Confirmation

Is there a duty to inform the trustee about changes post-plan confirmation?

Yes. There is an inherent duty for the consumer debtor to update the trustee on any and all material changes, particularly windfalls, post plan confirmation. In a very recent case, In Re Robinson, the United States Trustee moved to dismiss debtor’s chapter 13 case because the debtor received nearly $80,000 from an insurer after a fire on one of her properties. Instead of reporting receipt of the proceeds to the trustee, the debtor expended most of them toward . . .

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Daryl J. Smith

Senior Staff Attorney

Daryl J. Smith is a Memphis native, who focuses his practice in the area of bankruptcy law as a senior staff attorney for Sylvia Ford Brown – Chapter 13 Trustee Western District of Tennessee, (Memphis). Prior to becoming a Chapter 13 staff attorney, Mr. Smith resided and practiced law in the State of Mississippi. He served as an assistant district attorney in Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys and Yazoo counties in the State of Mississippi. He prosecuted and tried more than three dozen criminal cases from malicious mischief cases to capital murder cases. Mr. Smith is a member of the Memphis Bar Association and is admitted to the bars of Tennessee and Mississippi. Additionally, he is admitted to the federal court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Millions of ITINs Set to Expire in 2019; IRS Says Renew Early to Prevent Refund Delays

June 23, 2019

Nearly 2 million Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are set to expire at the end of 2019 as the IRS continues to urge affected taxpayers to submit their renewal applications early to avoid refund delays next year. “We urge taxpayers with expiring ITINs to take action and renew the number as soon as possible. Renewing before the end of the...

WE LOVE AND WILL MISS YOU, HELEN

Elizabeth Vaughan

July 31, 2022

Helen Morris, the Standing Chapter 13 and 12 Trustee for West Virginia is retiring at the end of this fiscal year. I first met Helen over lunch at NACTT, where we chatted about a non-legal interest we both share, writing fiction. I was delighted to discover, then as now, a friend with a razor wit, a wicked sense of humor...

From the Editor – Discharge

June 7, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Hardship discharge denied. Section 1328(b)’s requirements for hardship discharge are conjunctive and failure to satisfy any one of three conditions results in denial. Reviewing judicial decisions on requirements of the statute, the court considered “the extent of a debtor’s accountability and degree of control; the substantiality and foreseeability of the changed circumstances at...

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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...

Some Federal Protections are Stronger Than Others – Sovereign Immunity, Criminal Restitution, and the Automatic Stay

Jeffrey S. Fraser

August 13, 2023

In this brief synopsis, Fraser compares Lac du Flambeauto a case from the Middle District Court of North Carolina and its connection to the automatic stay.

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In the Trenches: Secrets to Settlement – Competency in the Courtroom Part 3 of 3

June 23, 2019

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Trustee (Topeka, KS) Click here for Part 1 of 3 Click here for Part 2 of 3 19. In the Courtroom ― Leading Questions Learning how to conduct a direct examination of your witnesses is the cornerstone to your case. Early . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This...

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Kristina Stanger and Jessica Hopton Youngberg

November 3, 2019

Kristina Stanger is an attorney and shareholder at Iowa’s Nyemaster Goode, P.C. She is also a combat-experienced Lieutenant Colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard. She is currently one of Iowa’s highest ranking females and is the Chief of Plans and Operations for the Iowa Army National Guard. Jessica Hopton Youngberg is Senior Staff Attorney for Veterans Legal Services in...

Is 1328(i) Ultimately Terrible for Debtors?

February 7, 2021

By Ken Siomos, Staff Attorney for Marsha L. Combs-Skinner (Newman, IL) The December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, more commonly known as the second covid-19 stimulus bill, contains a few bankruptcy related provisions, but none stood out more with respect to Chapter 13 than the newly created § 1328(i). This provision provides that a court may grant a full 1328(a)...

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From the Editor – Lien Issues

September 15, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Manufactured home did not become accession to real property. The creditor holding security interest in a manufactured home objected to confirmation, on the basis that § 1322(b)(2)’s anti-modification provision prevented bifurcation of its claim into secured and unsecured parts. The Eighth Circuit noted that the Bankruptcy Code does not resolve the issue of...

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Critical Case Comment – Hell Hath No Fury, Until It Meets the S.D. of PA

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

July 31, 2022

Chapter 13 debtor’s profligate, pre-petition spending and post-petition lack of candor, demonstrated that the plan was not proposed in good faith and the petition was not filed in good faith. (Frank) In re Ames, 2022 WL 2195469 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. June 17, 2022) Case Summary In April of 2018, after 10 years of marriage, Guy Ames initiated a divorce complaint...

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