By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) "Equity is not an old man, with a long grey beard, sitting under a tree. Equity has rules."1 Introduction Section 105 When enacted in 1978, the Bankruptcy Code in section 105 included an "all writs" statute for the Bankruptcy Courts: The court may issue any order, process, or judgment that...

By Scott F. Waterman, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Reading) Modifying a first mortgage is one of the most common loss mitigation tools available to bring a loan current to prevent foreclosure. In this case the first mortgage was modified twice by capitalizing the unpaid interest, reducing the interest rate, and reducing the monthly payments...

Where a debtor fails to disclose to the Court or the trustee a forbearance on his mortgage that he was to pay directly, the Court would grant the trustee’s motion to modify to recapture as much as possible of the surplus funds the forbearance generated. (Kenney) In re Ilyev, 2022 WL 2965029 (Bankr. E.D. Va. July 26, 2022) Case Summary...

Rebecca Rogers Garcia was a staff attorney for Mary B. Grossman, the Chapter 13 Trustee in Milwaukee from 2002 until November 2014. Prior to her employment with the Chapter 13 Trustee; she represented debtors in consumer cases. Ms. Garcia is on the board of the Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Creditors Rights Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin and a member...

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction This series has focused on the four bankruptcy-related bills that were enacted during the 116th Congress and signed into law on August 23, 2019. One bill, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), became effective February 19, 2020. It appears in its entirety in Appendix B to this...

By Regina Logsdon, Executive Director, The Academy d/b/a ConsiderChapter13.org Robert (“Bob”) G. Drummond has been the only standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Montana since 1992. Originally from Montana, Mr. Drummond graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business, and received a Juris Doctorate in Law with Honors from the University of...

When case converts from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7, the Chapter 7 trustee is not limited to the valuation of the debtor’s home as stated on the original schedules and may capture the increase in equity resulting from the property’s appreciation. (Dales) In re Adams, 2022 WL 2079725 (Bankr. W.D. Mich. June 9, 2022) Case Summary Matthew and Katherine Adams...

Recently, I had the pleasure of a great conversation with Chapter 13 Trustee, Thomas McDonald, from the EDMI. As it turns out, we have both been pilots for a long time. Once we came to this realization, our conversation quickly devolved from the issues confronting the bankruptcy industry to talk of density altitude, mountain flying, and the importance of using...

Diane Cipollone is an attorney and a qualified expert on mortgage servicing and loan origination matters. While Diane no longer provides expert testimony, she continues to consult with consumer attorneys; trains attorneys, court mediators, housing counselors and fair housing advocates on foreclosure prevention guidelines and federal mortgage regulations; and mentors pro bono attorneys and non-profit housing counselors. She has presented...

Dan grew up in Spokane, Washington, and graduated from Gonzaga University in 1966 with a BA in political science.  After finishing his undergraduate degree, Dan entered active duty in the United States Army.  He was stationed in Korea from 1967 to 1968 where he commanded a HAWK missile battery.  Dan retired from the United States Army in 1994 with the...