National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act of 2023

The National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act of 2023 (H.R. 3315) enacted on December 19, 2023 extends for an additional four years the existing exemption from the means test for qualifying reservists and National Guard debtors who are called to active duty or to perform a homeland defense activity for not less than 90 days. See 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(D)(i). A debtor may only claim the exemption if his/her case is filed while on active duty or while performing a homeland defense activity, or within the 540-day period immediately following the conclusion of active duty or the performance of a homeland defense activity. See 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)(D)(ii).

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Consumer Bankruptcy Education

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From the Editor – Claims

February 9, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Unreasonable fees for proof of claim. $4,000 fee for private mortgagee’s proof of claim and objection to proposed plan was unreasonable, and creditor was denied recovery of $7,500 attorney fee for responding to debtor’s objection to proof of claim. The Court considered Fannie Mae’s guidelines for maximum fees related to proof of claim...

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No Answers?

Cathy Moran

September 17, 2023

What do you do when you don’t know the answer to a bankruptcy client’s questions? After all, you’re a bankruptcy lawyer.

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Looking Beyond Taggart: Is the Contempt Standard for a Stay Violation the Same as for a Discharge Injunction Violation?

May 5, 2019

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Background Last year, the Ninth Circuit in In re Taggart1 ruled that an act in violation of the discharge injunction did not empower a court to find a creditor in contempt, if the creditor believed in good faith that the discharge injunction did not apply—even if the creditor's belief was...

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341s: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Brandi Manuel Jolley

November 19, 2023

“The chief obstacle we have had since starting Zoom revolves around the lack of high-speed internet in our division.”

Duty to Disclose Substantial and Unanticipated Changes in Debtor’s Financial Condition

Angela M. Scolforo

December 11, 2022

In the case of In re Ilyev, 17-12987-KHK (Bankr. E.D. VA July 26, 2022), Judge Kenney granted the Chapter 13 Trustee’s motion to modify the plan to require the Debtor to repay some of the $29,250 of disposable income he retained by not making his mortgage payments during an 18-month Covid forbearance. The Debtor never disclosed to the Trustee, or...

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From the Editor – Claims

October 20, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Objection sustained to one-year late proof of claim. The mortgage creditor did not object to confirmation nor file a proof of claim until one year after the bar date in the Chapter 13 case. The trustee objected to the claim, which asserted a higher arrearage than provided for in the confirmed plan. Section...

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Tips and Traps: Issuing A Subpoena for Bank Records

March 10, 2019

By Beverly M. Burden, Chapter 13 Trustee (Lexington, KY) I recently had to issue subpoenas to banks to get the records of a non-debtor (long story involving an attorney’s mishandling of escrowed funds held on behalf of a chapter 13 debtor). Here are some tips for others like me who do not often need to use subpoenas. These tips apply...

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The Case of the Naked Client

Cathy Moran

December 10, 2023

“The bankruptcy petition came to my desk for review with no entry for “clothing and wearing apparel”. Funny, I think I’d remember if I’d interviewed any naked people lately.” Although filled with Attorney Moran’s wit, there is an important lesson here! Feel free to add your own ‘naked client’ story in the comments section below the article.

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Bankruptcy Courts Grapple with the “COVID-19 Discharge” – Appendix A

April 18, 2021

Bankruptcy Courts Grapple with the “COVID-19 Discharge” APPENDIX A 11 U.S.C. § 1328 Discharge (Text added by CAA, effective: December 27, 2020 and subject to one-year sunset, appears in italics.) (Mandatory and precatory directions to the court, critical to the statutory analysis in In re Ritter, appears in bold.) (a) Subject to subsection (d), as soon as practicable after completion...

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Objections to Exemptions—An Exception From 30-day Rule?

The Honorable William Houston Brown

November 24, 2024

The Ninth Circuit's recently carved out a narrow exception to the 30-day objection deadline for exemptions under Rule 4003(b)(1).

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