From the Editor – Chapter 7 Issues • NACTT Academy

From the Editor – Chapter 7 Issues

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Abuse Dismissal

Spouse’s income considered for abuse purposes. Under § 707(b)(3)(B)’s totality of circumstances inquiry, the nondebtor husband’s income contributed to debtor’s household expenses could be considered in abuse determination. Husband was wealthy and parties had been married for twenty-one years, pooling income and expenses. Credit card debt incurred by debtor benefitted household and husband. The specific provisions of § 707(b)(2) did not subsume broader § 707(b)(3). Kulakowski v. United States Trustee (In re Kulakowski), 735 . . .

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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.”

Student Loans in Existing Chapter 13’s

Josh Cohen, Scott Waterman

October 1, 2023

In conjunction with The Academy’s recent webinar on Student Loans, Scott and Josh offer a follow-up check list – a MUST READ! “With all the new student loan servicing changes, what should debtor attorneys be doing as to pending chapter 13 cases where their clients owe federal student loans? Here’s the short list:”

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Critical Case Comment–84 Months: Lifesaver or Anchor?

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 12, 2023

Section 1329(c), as it currently exists, forecloses the ability of Chapter 13 debtor to modify a confirmed plan to alter the plan payment amount while maintaining an extended plan, previously approved under the CARES Act. (Hanan) In re Nelson, 2022 WL 6795096 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. October 11, 2022) Case Summary Immediately after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress sought...

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Small Business Reorganization Act…(“SBRA”) H.R. 3311 – Part Three

October 6, 2019

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Topeka, KS) Click here for Part One Click here for Part Two What needs to be in a plan filed in a case under the SBRA? Start with the statute…1 A. Contents of Plan2 Comparison of “Contents . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is...

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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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Mortgage Matters in Times of COVID-19

April 5, 2020

By Robert (Bob) Schuman, Owner/Managing Broker, Network Financial Group Is it 2008 again? For us in the mortgage industry, we woke up this week feeling as if during the night, we were transported back to 2008 when the mortgage industry basically collapsed. Then, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHA were the exceptions. As of March 25, 2020, like everything...

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Creditors’ Rights and Debtors’ Protections at the Intersection of Consumer Bankruptcy and UCC Article 9 – Part IV

October 4, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART IV – INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER FORECLOSURE PROCEDURES 2020 portends a flood of bankruptcy filings. In the consumer bankruptcies, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). In this space, we have looked at topics involving the interplay of...

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Bankruptcy Intersecting with Tevis Equals Malpractice Claim

Nicole P. Novak

March 20, 2022

A New Jersey attorney is the subject of a legal malpractice complaint for allegedly failing to properly preserve a marital tort claim as an exception to discharge. Asma J. Warsi v. Adrian J. Johnson (Case No. MID-L-001023-22, Super. Ct. of N.J., Middlesex County); In re Chaundry, 569 B.R. 372 (Bankr. D. N.J. 2017). In Chaundry, Creditor Wife had a marital...

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Hanging Paragraph, Cars for Non-Personal Use, and PMSI

November 3, 2019

By Gretchen Holland, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Greenville/Spartanburg Division of South Carolina The hanging paragraph of § 1325(a)(9) prevents bifurcation of a PMSI claim if the collateral securing it was purchased within certain time periods prepetition. A 910-day limitation applies to motor vehicles acquired for the debtor’s personal use. A one-year limitation applies to all other PMSI collateral,...

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Disregarding Bankruptcy Protections Can be Costly: How Courts Decide Punitive Damages Awards for Stay Violations

December 15, 2019

By Veronica D. Brown-Moseley and Stephen F. Relyea1 The automatic stay serves as a shield that immediately protects debtors in bankruptcy and their property from a host of creditor collection actions ranging from foreclosure, repossession, and garnishment to collection letters and phone calls. In most instances, the filing of a bankruptcy case forces creditors to cease all collection actions and...

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