By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Exemptions are determined at the time the debtor files for bankruptcy. … This maxim is called the "snapshot" rule because the debtor's financial situation is frozen in time, as if someone had taken a snapshot of it.1 Recent Caselaw The First and Ninth Circuits On March 1, the Ninth Circuit...

Under the CARES Act 11 USC § 1329 was amended to include a temporary provision that permitted confirmed chapter 13 plans to extend the plan term to up to 84 months. To do so, debtors were required to show they were affected by COVID, § 1329(d).i The maximum term under 11 USC §1329(c) has always been 60 months. Under the...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) Section I. Student Loans, Part I Statutory Suggestions When the Commission asked participants to identify the most important issue in consumer bankruptcy, all three committees were told the same thing: the role of bankruptcy in the field of student loans. All three committees looked at the issue and proposed...

By Rachel Jones, Staff Attorney to Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Chris Micale, Western District of Virginia (Roanoke) The events of 2020 have had a devastating impact on the very low-income population. The working poor are struggling, particularly those working in sectors such as hospitality and tourism. State and Federal funding and local programs such as food banks and community action...

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.

By Angela M. Scolforo, Staff Attorney to Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee (Charlottesville, VA) In Hurlburt v. Black,1 the en banc Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned its prior decision in Witt,2 and held that Bankruptcy Code § 1322(c)(2) authorizes modification of some home mortgage loans through bifurcation and cram down. This enables debtors to cram down home mortgage...

By Cameron Kelly & Michael Carroll, Law Students, The University of Texas School of Law I. Starting the Journey Instead of starting class by cold-calling people, Professor Westbrook chose to suspend my terror briefly. While I was thankful for the reprieve from what would inevitably be a disappointing cold call, I was more thankful for what he had to say....

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Trustee (Topeka, KS) Click here for Part 1 of 3 8. Early Preparation for Trial As suggested, the best way to settle a case is to be willing to try that case, which means you must prepare from the get go. That preparation begins a long time before the eve of trial, namely, at the...

IRS has begun sending letters to virtual currency owners advising them to pay back taxes, file amended returns; part of agency’s larger efforts. On July 26th, the IRS announced that it has begun sending letters to taxpayers with virtual currency transactions that potentially failed to report income and pay the resulting tax from virtual currency transactions or did not report...