After a Chapter 7 discharge, is there anything left of a mortgage to reorganize in Chapter 13? That’s the question that the Supreme Court resolved in Johnson v. Home State Bank, the next on our summer reading list for new bankruptcy lawyers. Believe it or not, it was 12 years after adoption of the 1978…
Since the Fundamentals of Bankruptcy course came out, I’ve talked with a number of new bankruptcy attorneys who report that they are waiting for later offerings, since they’ve already filed a number of petitions and feel they have that aspect of the practice down pat. One lawyer reported that he had filed 10 cases, so…
Do you think I worry about these issues too much? the rookie bankruptcy lawyer asked me. The issue was exemption planning and the question was whether instituting an IRA and funding it for the current year before filing was a transfer, and if so, would it be objectionable to a Chapter 7 trustee. We went…
Ever wonder why we can’t strip off unsecured consensual liens in Chapter 7? Meet Mrs. Dewsnup who filed Chapter 7 and sought to reduce the claim of a junior secured lender on a piece of Utah farmland to the value of the portion of the land available to secure the mortgage. Mrs. Dewsnup went 0-4,…
I’ve been aghast at the willingness of lawyers brand new to bankruptcy practice to take on cases and issues far beyond their current competence. I’ve tried to gently counsel that both self preservation and the client’s best interest require the inexperienced to pass on cases beyond their present skill set. I realized just how glib …