Debtors could not deduct from their disposable income a $300 per month expenditure for tobacco products as a “special circumstance.”

Unlock This Article

To get started, please let us know which of these best fits your current position:

Please sign in to continue reading this content.
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville)

Henry E. Hildebrand, III has served as Standing Trustee for Chapter 13 matters in the Middle District of Tennessee since 1982 and as Standing Chapter 12 Trustee for that district since 1986. He also is of counsel to the Nashville law firm of Belcher Sykes Harrington, PLLC. Mr. Hildebrand graduated from Vanderbilt University and received his J.D. from the National Law Center of George Washington University. He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and the Nashville Bar Foundation. He is Board Certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification and serves on its faculty committee. He is Chairman of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee for the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT). He is on the Board of Directors for the NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, Inc. and is an adjunct faculty member for the Nashville School of Law and St. Johns University School of Law. In addition, he served as a commissioner to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy.

Related Articles

March 15, 2020
By Jen Grondahl Lee, Jen Lee Law, Inc. (San Ramon, CA) When is a collected fee not a collected fee? When the statutes authorizing payment to the standing Chapter 13 trustee do not provide clear guidance on when that fee is paid and/or earned. The most recent case on this issue is In re Evans (Bankr. Idaho 2020).1 In a...
Members
September 29, 2019
By Academy Staff Jeffrey M. Kellner graduated from THE Ohio State University in 1975. Between then and entering law school, Jeff worked in Montana for the park service. He graduated from Capital University College of Law in 1985. After law school, he worked for two years as a law clerk for Judge Calhoun in Columbus, OH. He then went to...
gustafson2
In the continually evolving field of consumer bankruptcy law, a series of Supreme Court decisions shape how cases are administered nationwide. Over the coming weeks, we will highlight key decisions that every bankruptcy practitioner should recognize—both by name and by the issues they resolve. This week’s ‘memory work’ is: Johnson v. Homestate Bank; Harrington v. Purdue Pharma; Bartenwerfer v. Buckley; Fulton
Members
August 16, 2020
By Laila S. Gonzalez, Esq. One thing everyone can agree on is that student loan debt is increasing on an annual basis. Studies have shown than people with high student loan debt wait years longer to buy a home and start a family. Several suggestions have been made as to how to resolve the problem. One suggestion is to eliminate...
Members
February 17, 2019
By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART II: More Supreme Court Action on Arbitration Introduction Click here for Part I Click here for Part III Click here for Part IV What is the effect of an . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members....
Members
Consumer Bankruptcy Education
September 28, 2025
UPDATE-PUBLIC NOTICE: Multifactor Authentication and Updated Password Standards for PACER and CM/ECF  Starting mid-May, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) began enforcing several security features for PACER which included multifactor authentication (MFA) and updated password standards. However, since implementing these security features, PACER Service Center (PSC) has experienced extremely long call wait times due to the enforcement of these...
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
July 13, 2025
Carefully following In re Nolan and In re Adkins, a debtor may modify a confirmed Chapter 13 plan to surrender a car so long as the full secured claim is paid although with a modified interest and paid without a regular monthly payment.
Members
December 27, 2020
By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Section 506(d) does not allow the voiding of a lien when the underlying claim, filed by the debtor, has been disallowed; when notice is provided to a corporation it must be addressed to the individual who holds the office of an officer, manager, or general...
Members
norton
Continuing your summer reading, Judge Norton shares with subscribers a three-part outline on zealous advocacy followed by a multi-part Addendum of case summaries broken into various categories. We believe you will enjoy this resource. This week we offer the first group of cases from the Addendum. These cases deal with behavior. Part 1 - History of Zealous Advocacy Part 2 - How Have Courts Discussed “Zealous Advocacy”? Part 3 - Practical Takeaways
Members
Brett Rodgers
March 9, 2025
“That’s what we do as trustees: we help. Help the court, the debtors, the creditors and help each other.”

Looking to Become a Member?

ConsiderChapter13.org offers a forum to advance continuing education of consumer bankruptcy via access to insightful articles, informative webinars, and the latest industry news. Join now to benefit from expert resources and stay informed.

Webinars

These informative sessions are led by industry experts and cover a range of consumer bankruptcy topics.

Member Articles

Written by industry experts, these articles provide in-depth analysis and practical guidance on consumer bankruptcy topics.

Industry News

The Academy is the go-to source for the latest news and analysis in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy industry.

To get started, please let us know which of these best fits your current position: