The underwater second deed of trust was listed on Schedule F in the debtor’s prior Chapter 13 case as an unsecured claim. Functionally, the lien was without value. But, the debtor, now my client in a subsequent case, took a gentle tongue lashing from a bankruptcy judge about the classification of the claim on the […]
How To Insure The Judgment Isn’t Discharged In Bankruptcy
The settlement agreement, fully executed, provided explicitly that the obligation was not dischargeable in bankruptcy. So how come the successful resolution stood to go up in flames when the defendant filed bankruptcy? Because the terms of the settlement agreement didn’t track the elements of the bankruptcy code’s elements for non dischargeable debts. With agreed facts, […]
Married: Assorted Bankruptcy Exemption Issues
Our series on family law and bankruptcy continues with an exploration of a mixed bag of exemption and property-of-the-estate questions colored by the fact the debtor has been married. Non debtors claim exemptions Section 522(b) opens with a provision that the debtor may exempt from the property of the estate property described in the section […]
Mortgage Servicers In The Crosshairs
The sign on my office door should read: Armed and Dangerous Dangerous, anyway, if you are a mortgage servicer. I have a bunch more arrows in my quiver thanks to new bankruptcy rules and new regulations. Most of them relate to home ownership and mortgages. FRBP 3002.1 Sitting on my desk is a notice of […]
Can Family Court Order Discharged Spouse To Indemnify The Other?
File bankruptcy before or after a divorce? It’s the classic bankruptcy family law conundrum. We think about about bankruptcy addressing the claims of third parties against the spouses. But consider the impact of a bankruptcy discharge granted to one spouse prior to the resolution of the divorce. What are the options and alternatives for the […]
How To Wield Influence And Change The Rules Of The Game
Change is coming to the rules of bankruptcy that drive what we do and the forms we must use to do it. We can try to shape the change or just react against it. Or as the traditional wedding service exhorts: speak now or forever hold your peace. Public comment closing Feb. 15 The Rules […]
Domestic Support Obligations: When The Rules We Know Change
As bankruptcy lawyers, we’d like to get the world trained to simply halt in their tracks when a bankruptcy is filed and the automatic stay is invoked. It’s not so simple when there are family law proceedings afoot. Automatic stay Section 362(a) enjoins continuation of an action against the debtor to recover a claim or […]
