Bankruptcy Mastery

Talk to Chuck and lose your IRA? That's the prospect suggested by a recent bankruptcy case from ED TN  featured in the ABI Journal this month. In a nutshell, the case held that lien granting language in the standard Merrill Lynch brokerage account agreement was a prohibited transaction with respect to an IRA. Daley, 459 B.R. 270 (E.D. Tenn. 2011) The Chapter 7 trustee was successful in … [Continue reading...]

Adequate protection in operation seems to stump new bankruptcy lawyers. How does the adequate protection payment relate to the claim as a whole? How do you figure it? Who gets adequate protection? The knottiest question I took at Amelia Island (and the least satisfying answer)  came in the Chapter 13 plan class about adequate protection. So, let's take a stab at working through … [Continue reading...]

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...]