Bankruptcy Mastery

Becoming a better bankruptcy lawyer

  • Home
  • About Cathy
  • Contact Cathy
  • Articles by Topic
    • Attorneys fees
    • Bankruptcy Practice
    • Before filing
    • Business bankruptcy
    • Cases new & significant
    • Counseling clients
    • Family Law in Bankruptcy
    • Means test
    • Opinionated
    • Real property
    • Rule 3002.1
    • Tax
  • Table of Contents
  • Start Here

Parker: Sweet Decision On Stay Violations

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Chapter 13

bankruptcy stay violation

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 […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13 Tagged With: 2021, hoa, stay violation

List It Or Lose It: When Actual Knowledge Isn’t Enough

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

abandonment in bankruptcy

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 […]

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Why Your Bankruptcy Client Doesn’t Understand You (And How To Fix the Problem)

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: lawyer skills, Start Here

bankruptcy terms

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: If you’ve seen more than three […]

Filed Under: lawyer skills, Start Here

Diaz & The Tax Refund

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Means test

bankruptcy 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 […]

Filed Under: Means test Tagged With: 2021, EITC, tax refund

Ensure You Understand Insurance In Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Exemptions

examining life insurance

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 insurance policies and the debtor as beneficiary. Unmatured life insurance Starting with exemptions, ยง522(d)(7) makes an […]

Filed Under: Exemptions Tagged With: exempt insurance

6 Steps to Ethical Unbundling of Bankruptcy Representation

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Attorneys fees

No matter how many hoops the client dutifully jumped through, without adequate inquiry and communication, the bankruptcy attorney was slammed for unbundling his services. The representation agreement at issue excluded representation in any adversary proceeding filed, as do most such agreements, I imagine. The client initialed every paragraph of the 19 page representation agreement, and […]

Filed Under: Attorneys fees

Reaffirmations Impose Impossible Demands On Bankruptcy Counsel

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Counseling clients

reaffirmation presents problems

When BAPCA gutted the ipso facto clause, reaffirmation was left as the only way a debtor could be assured of retaining his wheels. Car lenders took sides back then, then changed sides, on whether they would automatically repossess a vehicle when the debt was not reaffirmed. Some wanted the in terrorem effect of losing the […]

Filed Under: Counseling clients

« Previous Page
Next Page »

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 ·Prose · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress

Theme customization by Rowboat Media LLC