They’re not “I love you” or even “I am sorry”. They’re bequest, devise, and inheritance from §541(a)(5)(A). Any interest in property that would have been property of the estate if such interest had been an interest of the debtor on the date of the filing of the petition, and that the debtor acquires or […]
New Year’s Resolutions: What Challenges Me
I asked you last week to identify the challenges in your practice. I heard cries for more clients, for mentors, for new skill sets. Turning the focus around, I thought about what I wanted to do differently or better this year in my practice. Here’s my list. Communicate the bankruptcy grounds rules to clients more […]
What Did The Lawyer Miss?
Something was missing: the brief on behalf of a creditor with a lien argued vigorously that the lien couldn’t be stripped in a Chapter 13 in which no discharge was available. Silence as to the other side of the argument. The one sided brief resulted in not only a loss on the client’s issue, but […]
What’s Your Next Challenge?
Ever feel like the practice of consumer bankruptcy law resembles crossing the chasm on a rope bridge? In the dark? I assure you, you are not alone. In one of my first contested matters in bankruptcy, probably within 18 months of passing the bar, and the same distance from adoption of the Bankruptcy Code, I […]
Friday Freebie
Budget flat? Business slow? How about a federal practice manual, on line, for free? Check out the Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys. It’s not shopworn: we don’t have enough of those legal aid heroes to smudge the pages. To expand your bankruptcy practice beyond drafting schedules, you need litigation skills. Here’s a […]
Avoid Probate: Lose The Property In Bankruptcy Instead
Whether it’s fear of the cost of lawyers or joinder in probate-phobia, the public’s do-it-yourself testamentary substitutes can have ugly consequences when bankruptcy looms. “When the individual who is supposed to benefit from a parent’s accumulations files bankruptcy, the cheapo alternative to a will or trust can cost the players the property”, said probate lawyers […]
Wait, Wait, Don’t File
Three weeks til the New Year and I’m starting to look at each Chapter 13 filing in my shop and ask whether we should file this case. It’s not that the calendar has much influence on whether clients need a bankruptcy. It’s “Will these folks owe taxes for 2011?” For the case I reviewed yesterday, […]
