Bankruptcy Mastery

Wrap up from Amelia Island NACBA Workshop Anytime you spend time rubbing shoulders with other committed bankruptcy lawyers, you learn something. Some learning occurs in the presentations.  Some on the other hand is the  product of what my fellow Californian Jay Fleischman calls hallway magic.   Share, trade, question, complain to other bankruptcy attorneys in the conference hallways, and … [Continue reading...]

I can't type fast enough to summarize Henry Sommer's comments on the cases, but I'll list the cases Henry included in the Case Update. Hall v. US, 132 S. Ct. 1882  - do post petition capital gains taxes have priority Johnson v. Zimmer, 686 F.3d 224  household size when debtor has partial custody Flores, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 18508 (9th Cir)  did Kagenveama holding on applicable commitment … [Continue reading...]

Greetings from the NACBA 2012 workshop at Amelia Island.  And it really does look like the picture. The morning opened with a poll of the 400 attendees of those who'd been affected by the Superstorm;  Probably a quarter of the audience stood as having gotten here despite storm challenges. Almost an equal number of attendees are attending their first NACBA event. The program is divided … [Continue reading...]

Most contests have rules.  Charny wrote on medieval jousting; Hoyle on cards;  Queensberry on boxing. Rule 9014 provides the rules of bankruptcy disputes. 9014 recognizes contested matters:  disputes in bankruptcy cases that  don't require an adversary proceeding but do require the court to decide a disputed issue. You can hardly be an effective player if you don't … [Continue reading...]

Letters in the client's mailbox superficially offer great news:  the junior mortgage will be forgiven! That good news just adds on a new facet to our job description:  spotting possible  tax consequences and alternatives for our clients by reason of  tax on cancellation of debt. As  the National Mortgage Settlement  gains momentum, we can expect to encounter this more often. The topic is … [Continue reading...]

Sometimes it seems that the substance of the law is easier than procedure.  Adequate service is both essential and ephemeral. We've been struggling for some time about who to serve and how to do it on the issue of stripping underwater mortgages. Locally, the spotlight seems to have shifted to service when you move to extend the stay in the case of a debtor with a prior dismissal. So it … [Continue reading...]

Be an advocate-your client has enough opponents. It's no accident that the word for lawyer in Scotland, Belgium and India is advocate. If we do our jobs for bankruptcy clients well, we are advocates for their interests at every stage of the game. Yet I hear lawyers assuming that there is a known and pat answer to every question under BAPCPA  and that the answer is the one the trustee … [Continue reading...]