Why Your Bankruptcy Client Doesn’t Understand You (And How to Fix the Problem)

By Cathy Moran, Moran Law Group (Redwood City, CA)

Bankruptcy attorneys and their clients often seem to be a pair, divided by their common language.

Even without legal jargon, we talk past each other.

How do we misunderstand each other? Let me count the ways:

Property: I don’t have any property, lost the house to foreclosure last year.
Property 2: I don’t own the house, the bank does
Here are my debts:
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Cathy Moran, Esq.

Head of Moran Law Group

Cathy Moran has headed her own small firm Moran Law Group in Redwood City, California, for nearly 30 years. Family law and tax issues as they play out in bankruptcy are areas of particular interest to Cathy.

New Trustee Named

The Academy

September 3, 2023

Tracy Updike of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has been named as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of Indiana. Updike will be filling the trusteeship vacated by Debra Miller when she accepted a trusteeship in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Do I Really Have to Tell the Trustee About Newly Acquired Assets?

Herbert L. Beskin

January 9, 2022

It has long been a vexing question for Trustees and attorneys alike: do Debtors have to disclose assets acquired post-petition? In a lengthy and well-documented opinion, Chief Bankruptcy Court Judge John Waites of South Carolina has presented his take on this issue and concluded, with some important exceptions, that they do not. The case is In re Thomas L. Boyd,...

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I Win. I Win. Trustee Holds Record for Having the Oldest Open Chapter 13 Case

April 7, 2019

By Helen M. Morris, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia It really takes so little to make a Chapter 13 Trustee happy—debtor’s counsel using calculators when they draft a plan ($100 for 36 months is NOT $4,936.87 no matter how many times it is repeated); saying “the Trustee is right” distinctly in open...

When $400 Emergency Pushes You Over the Edge

September 8, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) The Federal Reserve reported that 40% of Americans couldn’t meet a $400 emergency without borrowing. A significant slice of them couldn’t pay it at all. So, a Bloomberg economist devoted his column to deconstructing how the press and political figures, in his opinion, misused that finding. OMGoodness. The guy was too caught up...

What to Do with the Dreaded Timeshare?

August 25, 2019

By Karin N. Amyx, Staff Attorney to the Trustee Carl Davis (Wichita, KS) To me, the word “timeshare” conjures up images of a dark conference room at a resort hotel where unwitting tourists are being goaded into signing usury contracts in exchange for a free meal ticket at the buffet. But what is a timeshare? And how do you deal...

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Rule 3002.1 Does Not Justify Punitive Sanctions

September 19, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) In order for a bankruptcy court to impose sanctions for contempt, Taggart compelsa finding of a violation of a clear and unambiguous order; the bankruptcy court lacks inherent power to issue punitive sanctions under Rule 3002.1. (Jacobs) PHH Mortgage Corporation v. Sensenich, 6 F.4th 503 (2nd Cir. August 2,...

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Chapter 13 Trustee Duties, Powers, And Limitations – Part 5

November 1, 2020

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama Under what circumstances should the trustee object to claims (assuming a purpose would be served under § 707(a)(5))? Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, 137 S. Ct. 1407 (2017). This case centered around the debtor’s argument that a creditor violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it...

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Passing of Retired Ohio Judge

The Academy

August 20, 2023

Passing of Retired Ohio Judge Judge Baxter was appointed United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Ohio on December 16, 1985, and served in the Court’s Cleveland, Ohio location until his retirement in 2011. He served as Chief Judge between 2004 and 2008. Click here for obituary.

Critical Case Comment

July 11, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) A prior servicer of a mortgage claim subsequently transferred to another servicer could be held liable if the transferor servicer provided inadequate or incorrect information to the transferee. (Aron) In re Bivens vs. NewRez LLC (In re Bivens), 625 B.R. 843 (Bankr. M.D. N.C., March 25, 2021) Case Summary...

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The Proposed Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act: A Political Analysis

January 17, 2021

By Kevin M. Ball, Eastern Michigan University Senator Warren and Representative Nadler introduced identical legislation entitled the Consumer Bankruptcy Report Act (“CBRA”) late in the 116th Congress. Although the bills died without action at the conclusion of that term, the sponsors have indicated their intent to reintroduce them in the 117th Congress. The legislation would bring major changes to the...

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