David A. Mawhinney is the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Central and Western Divisions of Massachusetts and a Subchapter V Trustee for Region One. He replaced Denise M. Pappalardo upon her retirement which was effective December 24, 2022. David is a 2002 graduate of Boston College and received his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 2011. When David started...

By Margaret A. Burks, Esq., Chapter 13 Trustee (Cincinnati, OH) I was recently asked to expound on a “Day in the Life of a Chapter 13 Trustee.” Then Regina (Logsdon, Executive Director of ConsiderChapter13.org) asked me to write an article for the Academy. I believe in fate so here goes. Please see ‘Effective Communication Guide.’ It came out about four...

(Used with expressed permission from the MI Bankruptcy Journal and the Steven W. Rhodes Consumer Bankruptcy Conference) III. Contrasting the Majority and Minority Interpretations The majority and minority approaches differ as to (1) the interpretation of the use of "collect" in § 586(e); (2) the operative effect of parallel provisions in chapters 11 and 12 on the interpretation of §...

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama Can the trustee challenge the debtor’s attorney’s fee? In re Rodriguez Perez, 2018 WL 3655656 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2018). In this case, the chapter 13 trustee asked the bankruptcy court to assess the contract between the debtor and counsel under § 526-528. The trustee alleged that the contract...

By Cathy Moran, Esq., (Redwood City, CA) Have I got a story for you. A rousing tale of schedules, hearings, frustrations, and ultimately fortunes, traceable to a good story in the fee application. Maybe that's a bit overblown, but I'm telling this story with a purpose. Good stories lead to fair compensation for bankruptcy attorneys. Fee applications aren't hard Filing...

Nearly 2 million Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are set to expire at the end of 2019 as the IRS continues to urge affected taxpayers to submit their renewal applications early to avoid refund delays next year. “We urge taxpayers with expiring ITINs to take action and renew the number as soon as possible. Renewing before the end of the...

Chapter 13 debtor’s counsel’s fee award was reduced to $48,116 from the requested $95,480 due to pre-petition payments, confusing and “lumped” time entries, and excessive hourly rates for some services performed, even though the debtor’s Chapter 13 plan was never even proposed much less confirmed. The debtor never attended a meeting of creditors, but the debtor managed to recover his...

It is incumbent upon nonbankruptcy attorneys, including personal injury attorneys, to verify on PACER that their client is not a debtor and that the cause of action as to which they represent their client is not property of the estate; failure to obtain approval of the bankruptcy court for representing a debtor or settlement of a personal injury action is...

Social media and internet dating sites have given rise to romance and confidence schemes.  Catfishing and spear phishing are extensively used.  Catfishing is faking an identity on the internet. Spear phishing uses more sophisticated and direct messages to trick the victim. New AI programs make it easier to reach and victimize the targets. The fraudsters prey upon the elderly, widowed...

The Eighth Circuit recently released its Topp opinion. At issue was the appropriate starting point for determining the discount rate to be used when paying secured claims under a chapter 12 plan. The debtor, who had gained confirmation of his plan before the bankruptcy court, proposed paying claims to Farm Credit Services over 20 years at a rate based on the...