The drafters of the 1978 Bankruptcy Code knew something about the lives of real people and some of the generally accepted people practices. They included two priceless provisions that allow debtors to protect co obligors with the debtor through the Chapter 13 plan. Co debtor Stay How often have our clients drawn on family or […]
Include Me Not
Proposed: the word “included” shall be stricken from the vocabulary of any bankruptcy lawyer. A relatively innocent question from a young lawyer set me off (again). The car, driven and paid for by an offspring, was titled to the prospective debtor who was the only borrower on the loan. The lawyer asked how to avoid […]
The Chapter 13 Plan Light Bulb Moment
Do I have to cure the arrears on the car loan and pay off the claim secured by the car, came the email from the young bankruptcy lawyer. No: when you pay the claim in a Chapter 13 plan, the arrears on a car loan are not a separate element for payment. I knew the […]
How To Learn The Truth Behind The Asset
When credit is a commodity, family are friends, and creditors are not, strange things happen. Trouble is, our clients don’t think the happenings are strange. Bankruptcy lawyers end up moving lots of “stuff” to get to the real story. Street law Arkansas bankruptcy lawyer Kathy Cruz uses the marvelous phrase “generally accepted people practices” […]
Four Ways Around The Chapter 13 Debt Limit
Bankruptcy needs a higher debt limit, too. My topic at the Bar Association of San Francisco in late July was all of a piece with the national problems: our debt ceiling was too low. Of course, I was addressing the debt limits in Chapter 13. An increase of a few hundred thousand would have solved […]
Bankruptcy Relief And Something For Nothing
This rant is for clients, and for bankruptcy lawyers who have to “adjust” the expectations of clients. The trigger was an attorney who asked if he could file a Chapter 13, strip a lien, and then convert the case to Chapter 7, preserving the lien strip. No, I said, why do you ask? The client […]
A Bankruptcy Lawyer’s Work Is Never Done
Your job isn’t done at confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan. Our clients’ lives keep changing, and if you keep thinking, there are on going chances to further improve their lives. Too often the changes in our clients’ circumstances are negative and we are looking at cratered cases, conversions or hardship discharges. But this week, […]
