Put off the division of community property in a marital dissolution at your peril. Hesitate and you risk all of the community property being swept up in a bankruptcy by the other spouse. And you’ll have little control where community property assets fall. Community property is all in The threat begins with the bankruptcy law […]
700 Words Yield $21K
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 fee applications […]
Parker: Sweet Decision On Stay Violations
I don’t know just what makes Parker such a treat for me, but it delivers multiple thrills to my bankruptcy lawyer heart. It’s a stay violation case with a BIG sanctions award. It’s a clearly, simply written opinion that lays out the circuit law on multiple issues. It hits hard at HOA hubris. It analyzes […]
List It Or Lose It: When Actual Knowledge Isn’t Enough
To actually effect abandonment of unadministered assets in a bankruptcy case, the asset in question must appear on Schedule A/B. That’s the hard teaching of Stevens v. Whitmore from the 9th Circuit BAP. A passing reference to an asset in the SOFA isn’t sufficient. Neither was the fact the trustee explicitly knew about the claim […]
Why Your Bankruptcy Client Doesn’t Understand You (And How To Fix the Problem)
Bankruptcy terminology, so familiar to lawyers, stymies clients. Even common English words seem to flumox our clients. We are a pair, divided by our common language. Even without legal jargon, we talk past each other. Words at war How do we misunderstand each other? Let me count the ways: Property: I don’t have any property, […]
Diaz & The Tax Refund
On its face, Diaz (Diaz v. Viegelahn , No. 19-50982 (5th Cir. Aug. 26, 2020)) is a pretty straightforward decision that struck down a local form plan as violating a below-median income debtor’s right to use her tax refund to finance necessary expenses for maintenance and support. On a deeper level, it appears to highlight […]
Ensure You Understand Insurance In Bankruptcy
Sometimes, issues that you’ve just skimmed over burst forth in bunches, demanding attention. Lately, that issue in my bankruptcy cases has been insurance. Because its treatment varies so, we need to be asking more pointed questions of clients about both insurance policies and the debtor as beneficiary. Unmatured life insurance Starting with exemptions, §522(d)(7) makes […]
