The entire mass of information in the bankruptcy schedules is interconnected in ways our clients don’t always perceive. However, if they don’t get the interconnection, they may get a rude surprise. I have a list of Do’s and Don’ts that I give clients at the conclusion of our initial consultation. Got more evidence this week […]
What To Say When You Have No Answer
What do you do when you don’t know the answer to a bankruptcy client’s questions? After all, you’re a bankruptcy lawyer. Divorce lawyer Lee Rosen lists six sound responses to the question you can’t answer off the top of your head. His favorite is “I don’t know, but I’ll get back to you”. I find […]
Think Beyond The Means Test
It started as a means test question: could emergency medical expenses be deemed non consumer debt. It ended up as a step back to get the bigger picture. Well seasoned bankruptcy counsel brought the fact pattern to a list serve of colleagues. The prospective debtors’ income in a small consulting corporation is declining, his health […]
Bankruptcy Cases And Making Change Happen
The axiom that the only thing constant is change certainly applies in the practice of bankruptcy law. Our client’ s life changes and we’re looking to dismiss a case or convert a case to another chapter. The code deals with this. Section 348 addresses the effect of conversion; 349 follows with the effect of dismissal. […]
Know the Rules of Debt, Divorce & Discharge
Today let’s combine the themes of my last two posts here and talk about the obligation of a spouse to indemnify the other spouse in a divorce from the debts assigned to the spouse. The indemnity obligation is not one most lay people see as a “debt”. It doesn’t involve paying money to the ex, […]
Are You Playing Chapter 7 With A Full Deck Of Cards?
If unscheduled assets are discovered by the trustee, can you dismiss a Chapter 7 case? The question came from the audience of my presentation to bankruptcy lawyers on techniques for the initial interview with the client. It boiled down to: what are the consequences for not doing a skillful job of extracting the whole story […]
Bankruptcy & Divorce: Property Settlements
One change brought by BAPCPA made the choice of chapter in bankruptcy much clearer: the amendment of §523(a)(15). Read with §523(a)(5), now all debts to a spouse, former spouse or a child, incurred in connection with a divorce or separation are non dischargeable in Chapter 7. There’s no longer a balancing-of-the-hardships test for discharge of non […]
