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When The Marital Community Doesn’t Get A Bankruptcy Discharge

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

community property discharge

Community property works differently in bankruptcy. I probably don’t have to tell you that. On the issue of assets and debts, community property is pretty straightforward. All of the community property comes into the estate upon the commencement of a bankruptcy case, even when only one spouse files. §541(a)(2). Every creditor with a right to […]

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice Tagged With: 2022, community property, discharge, non dischargeability

Finding the Flaws in IRS Tax Liens

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Tax

tax liens

Tax liens in bankruptcy sometimes don’t stand up to close scrutiny, to the delight and profit of bankruptcy debtors. I was reminded of two such instances by the excellent presenters at the NACBA 2021 Workshop. Lien perfection follows state law The secret tax lien attaches to all of a taxpayer’s property of any kind, wherever […]

Filed Under: Tax

Marital Adjustment: Everything But The Kitchen Sink

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Means test

marital adjustment

Not every expenditure that benefits the debtor’s household or his family is a household expense. And, if it’s not a household expense, it doesn’t get added to CMI in a single spouse bankruptcy filing. That’s how the marital adjustment should work. But it’s not so simple. Household expense is not an expansive definition During a NACBA […]

Filed Under: Means test Tagged With: marital adjustment, means test

Brace & Beyond: Joint Tenancy & Transmutation

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Real property, Strictly California

California joint tenancy

For Californians, the CA Supreme Court’s decision in Brace upended our understanding of joint tenancy and community property. For decades, we “knew” that a property couldn’t be both joint tenancy and community property . Siberell. And for those of us in the 9th Circuit, we “knew” that when married folks acquired property with title taken […]

Filed Under: Real property, Strictly California Tagged With: 2020

When Laws Collide, You Need The Right Word

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: lawyer skills

legal terms

As lawyers, words are our stock in trade. If we want to describe, explain, or persuade, we need to use the right word. The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – ’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.  MARK TWAIN I was blown away […]

Filed Under: lawyer skills

Siegel, Claim Preclusion & Me

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

claim preclusion nightmare

I’ve been having nightmares about the 9th’s Circuit’s decision in Siegel for 20 years. Broad strokes, Siegel (143 F.3d 525 (9th Cir. 1998) holds that a filed claim in a no asset bankruptcy case to which no one objects is entitled to preclusive effect in subsequent litigation by reason of Bankruptcy Code §502. In Siegel, […]

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice Tagged With: 2022, claim preclusion, proof of claim

How To Bankruptcy-Proof A Divorce Settlement

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Family Law in Bankruptcy

bullet-proof divorce

Chapter 13 bankruptcy can discharge non support obligations associated with a divorce that are non-dischargeable in Chapter 7. That’s worth repeating: any marital settlement agreement or court judgment that calls for payment or indemnity by one spouse to the other in the future is potentially vulnerable to a subsequent bankruptcy filing by the obligor-spouse. While […]

Filed Under: Family Law in Bankruptcy Tagged With: 2022, divorce, marital settlement agreement, property division

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