Member Articles

Spoofing scams hit with $10.5 trillion warning! If it were measured as a country, cybercrime would be the world’s third-largest economy after the United States and China. As its frequent mention in the news cycle demonstrates, no industry is immune – including the legal profession.

Apparently, seventh time’s the harm. In this case, aggressive lawyering’ crosses the line.

Should the court dismiss a lawsuit by homeowners against their bank where they did not disclose the claims in their chapter 13 petition?

Gregory D. Stefan was appointed as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Eastern District of Virginia effective May 1, 2023. He follows in the footsteps of Michael P. Cotter upon his retirement.

Pay off debt first or start saving now? A question you, as a debtor attorney, are often asked. It’s a debate almost as convoluted as which came first, the chicken or the egg?

As a follow up to No Gracie, LLCs May Not File Chapter 13, we posed some questions to the NACTT Emeritus Trustees group. We think you will find their answers interesting and thought provoking.

Once a Chapter 13 case is completed and the debtor receives a discharge, the trustee cannot seek to reopen the case for the purpose of grabbing an undisclosed, prepetition asset and then converting the case to a Chapter 7 so it could be administered.

Bankruptcy Courts are beginning to get a whiff of the fringes of the marijuana industry. Namely, is it automatically bad faith for “Bud” to propose a plan when his income is derived from a perfectly legal (as far as the state is concerned) business? Attorney Gieseke brings Academy readers an up to date look at what courts are saying.

Failure of a pro se debtor to pay the third installment of filing fees justifies dismissal of the case; debtor’s failure to submit a brief in compliance with Rule 8014 justifies a 180-day bar on refiling.

“The obvious struggle for the Court will be the effort to balance their definition of modify, with their passing comments on a debtor’s ability to change their plans during the case.”