Henry E. Hildebrand, III

Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville)

Biography

Henry E. Hildebrand, III has served as Standing Trustee for Chapter 13 matters in the Middle District of Tennessee since 1982 and as Standing Chapter 12 Trustee for that district since 1986. He also is of counsel to the Nashville law firm of Belcher Sykes Harrington, PLLC. Mr. Hildebrand graduated from Vanderbilt University and received his J.D. from the National Law Center of George Washington University. He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and the Nashville Bar Foundation. He is Board Certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification and serves on its faculty committee. He is Chairman of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee for the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT). He is on the Board of Directors for the NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, Inc. and is an adjunct faculty member for the Nashville School of Law and St. Johns University School of Law. In addition, he served as a commissioner to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy.

Articles by Henry E. Hildebrand, III

Copy of Hildebrand-2016
January 11, 2026
Chapter 13 plan, confirmed to pay a 2% dividend to unsecured creditors, cannot be modified under § 1329 when a joint debtor passes away resulting in a substantial increase in non-exempt equity in the surviving debtor spouse.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
January 4, 2026
Modification of a confirmed Chapter 13 plan cannot be based on speculative, uncertain, and anticipated conditions; the “best interest of creditors test” is determined at the time of confirmation of the original plan and not the confirmation of a modified plan.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
November 16, 2025
Creditor holding a reverse mortgage with a lien against property in which the debtor/heir resides holds a claim allowable in the debtor’s Chapter 13 case notwithstanding a lack of any personal liability.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
November 9, 2025
Party objecting to a proof of claim bears the initial burden of proof to overcome the presumption of validity. Upon overcoming that presumption, the creditor then has the burden of proof to establish the validity of its claim.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
October 26, 2025
It was not bad faith for debtor to utilize Chapter 13 to discharge a property settlement obligation to former spouse. This opinion was drafted by The Honorable Michael E. Romero, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Colorado, who will be speaking at the NACTT annual conference in New York. Mark your calendar NOW to attend – July 8-10.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
September 21, 2025
Chapter 13 debtor may modify confirmed plan, both to reduce payments and shorten length of plan even though the debtor had above-median income at the time of confirmation but below median income, at the time of modification.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
September 21, 2025
A substantial SBA guaranty is contingent and not counted toward the debt limits when the principal obligor of the SBA loan is current on payments. AND upon discharge the guaranty goes away – neat trick.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
September 7, 2025
Chapter 13 debtors who file new case within a year of dismissal of two prior cases must satisfy a heavy burden of proof demonstrating good faith; presumption that the case is not filed in good faith mandates demonstration of a change in circumstances.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
August 10, 2025
Direct payment to unsecured creditors is improper as is embedding a request for additional or alternate relief in a response to an unrelated motion.
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
August 3, 2025
It is a violation of the stay for the Social Security Administration to retain a debtor’s retirement social security benefits and apply them to an obligation for fraudulent receipt of SSI benefits.
Members
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