When The Marital Community Doesn’t Get a Bankruptcy Discharge

Community property works differently in bankruptcy. I probably don’t have to tell you that.

On the issue of assets and debts, community property is pretty straightforward. All of the community property comes into the estate upon the commencement of a bankruptcy case, even when only one spouse files. §541(a)(2).

Every creditor with a right to be paid from the community can file a claim, regardless of which spouse incurred the debt. It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

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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.

Think Beyond the Means Test

Cathy Moran

July 31, 2022

It started as a means test question: could emergency medical expenses be deemed non consumer debt. It ended up as a step back to get the bigger picture. Well seasoned bankruptcy counsel brought the fact pattern to a list serve of colleagues. The prospective debtors’ income in a small consulting corporation is declining, his health crisis raises not only income...

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The First Thing a Chapter 13 Debtor’s Attorney Should Know About the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019

October 13, 2019

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Click here for Part I, Introduction to the 2019 Legislation Click here for Part II, Five Things a Trustee Should Know About SBRA Part III The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA)1 is of interest to attorneys whose clients in troubled . . . It looks like you are...

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Meet the First Black Woman to Serve as Chief Judge for Federal Bankruptcy Court in Cleveland

The Academy

February 4, 2024

February is Black History Month and it’s a time to recognize the past but also honor those who are achieving great things today.

What IS a Principal Residence?

June 30, 2019

By Phil Lamos, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee Lauren A. Helbling (Cleveland, OH) Section 1322(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code states that a Chapter 13 plan may not modify a claim that is “secured only by a security interest in real property that is the debtor’s principal residence.” But the inverse of this statute is true; if...

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How To Manage Incompetent, Unprepared, and Negligent Bankruptcy Counsel

The NACTT Emeritus Trustees

February 12, 2023

Previously the Emeritus Trustees (“ETC”) were asked to comment on “How to Manage Unprofessional and Discourteous Attorneys”. We now turn to ETC to share their collective wisdom when addressing the issues raised by incompetent, unprepared, and negligent bankruptcy counsel. Chapter 13 Trustees are required to administer cases in accordance with the duties set forth in 11 U.S.C. Sec. 1302 and...

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Fourth Circuit: Brittner v. Beach Anesthesia

Edward C. Boltz

June 25, 2023

Summary: Brittner filed an adversary proceeding against Beach Anesthesia alleging violations of the automatic stay, but the bankruptcy court (affirmed by the district court) held that she had either failed to establish actual damages or to mitigate damages. The Court of Appeals held that that Brittner needed to satisfy a five-part test to establish a violation of the automatic stay: (1) that a bankruptcy...

Critical Case Comment – Time is of the Essence

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 21, 2023

Chapter 13 plan cannot be modified to treat a priority claim as general unsecured after the time for reconsideration of the order has passed. (Easterbrook) Matter of Terrell, 39 F.4th 888 (7th Cir. July 12, 2022) Case Summary The Terrells’ Chapter 13 plan proposed a classification to pay the State of Wisconsin in full as a priority claim because, they...

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The Hanging Paragraph – Hanging on Every Word Part 2 of 4

June 21, 2020

By Anthony J. Gomez, CPA, former extern to the Honorable John P. Gustafson, Northern District of Ohio at Toledo III. Applying the Hanging Paragraph a. Application of the Hanging Paragraph – Timing of Debt In order for the hanging paragraph to apply, the debt must be secured by a purchase money security interest (“PMSI”) in either: 1) a motor vehicle...

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Tax Form 1099 Needs A Closer Look: Chances Are It’s Wrong

April 14, 2019

By William J. Purdy, III, Simmons & Purdy (Soquel, CA) Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in the past few weeks have looked at or at least thought about, Form 1099-A or Form 1099-C documents they have received. Some arrived in the tax year a debt was allegedly cancelled. Others are issued by financial instructions many years after they should have...

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Interspousal Claims Live On and On and On

Cathy Moran

April 21, 2024

Even when the contentions against a debtor spouse sound in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, or intentional tort, the claims of the debtor’s spouse survive a Chapter 7 discharge.

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