Bankruptcy Mastery

Becoming a better bankruptcy lawyer

Remember the Big Stuff: Protecting Retirement and Business Assets

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Hon. Susan Kelley, U.S. Bankruptcy Court (Milwaukee, WI) Behrooz Vida, Esq. (Bedford, TX) Retirements asset issue that can be calculated by using equity interest rate release calculator. ERISA qualified plans excluded from bankruptcy estate. Nobody knew what was ERISA-qualified and not. IRAs may not have been qualified under Patterson but SUpreme Court came along and said debtor’s own IRA is … [Continue reading...]

Whoa! Watch Out For Preferences

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Elaine Dowling, Esq. (Oklahoma, OK) Hon. Margaret Mahoney, U.S. Bankruptcy Court (Mobile, AL) For the record, this was my favorite of the Friday sessions. What is a transfer?  Very broad. Insolvency is based on the time of the transfer, not based on hindsight.  What the parties knew at the time of the transfer.  Strict balance sheet analysis - no exemptions taken into account.  Look at … [Continue reading...]

Low Down On AG Mortgage Settlement

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

A last minute addition to the program for Saturday was a presentation on the nation wide mortgage settlement between the states' Attorneys General and the five major servicers. Here are my notes from the presentation by Joseph A. Smith, Jr. the court appointed monitor of the settlement. The presentation was accompanied by a concise and remarkably thorough summer of the settlement prepared by … [Continue reading...]

Stripping in San Antonio

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

John Rao, NACBA Vice President, and Judge Leif Clark presented the program on lien stripping. John Rao: language in Nobelman points to 506(a) to determine the creditor's status. Are they really a secured creditor subject to the modification prohibition of 1322(b)? If not, they can be stripped.  Remember this isn't 522(f) lien avoidance. Exemptions play no part in analysis for 506 lien … [Continue reading...]

Struggling to Surrender

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Here's what I would have blogged live if the interest in our live blogging hadn't crashed the server and required uninstallation of the software that would allow us to be really live. This presentation dealt with the problems that arise when the debtor wants to surrender encumbered property and the secured creditor will take no action to acquire title. Honorable Robert Berger, KC KS; James … [Continue reading...]

Washington, Rules & NCBRC

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Here's what I would have blogged for the second session on Friday's NACBA Convention. It seems that the enthusiasm for the "live blogging" effort crashed our server.  We're now up, at least for the moment, and for non live blogging. Jon Yarowsky NACBA lobbyist. Two branches of government now involved in politics. Everything in DC has been put off til after election. Nothing will be done … [Continue reading...]

Bankruptcy Mastery Will Provide Live Coverage Of NACBA San Antonio Convention

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

I hate taking notes during conventions.  I know I should, but I don't do it - ever.  As a consequence, I forget a good chunk of what I've learned. I also get that some people won't be in San Antonio for the NACBA convention April 27 - 29.  So I've prevailed on Cathy for the two of us to undertake the first liveblogging of a NACBA convention. What is liveblogging?  It's live coverage of the … [Continue reading...]

Revisiting Those Things I Just “Know”

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Muse of Knowledge

One of the stock lines in my sermon to clients about the importance of telling the entire and complete truth in the bankruptcy schedules has been the threat of denial of discharge. If your discharge is denied, I intone, those debts are forever non dischargeable in bankruptcy. It's akin to the parental threat:  the bogeyman will get you. Fellow bankruptcy lawyer Jay Fleischman wrote a … [Continue reading...]

Can I Have Those Words Back, Please?

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

It was one of those occasions when in retrospect, you're certain there is no neural path between your brain and your mouth. And it happened in public, in a courtroom, with my client present. My creditor client filed an objection to confirmation of a Chapter 13 in pro per.  Opposing counsel filed a response.  The response tracked each of the wordy and ill focused complaints my client had … [Continue reading...]

Why Courtroom Rules Work In Your Conference Room

By Filed Under: lawyer skills

"Objection: calls for a legal conclusion." That's a perfectly good courtroom objection to a question asked of a witness at trial.  The rules of evidence make the court, not the witness, the sole arbiter of the law. What does that have to do with filing bankruptcy schedules, you ask. I suggest you import this courtroom maxim into your routine for exploring assets, debts and … [Continue reading...]

The Business Lease: Who’s On First?

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

A business lease often looms as one of the biggest claims in a bankruptcy case and a big issue for a small business. For bankruptcy lawyers,  the lease raises, as most of these things do, both traps and opportunities Beyond the common subject matter,  today's observations are probably otherwise without a theme. Pivotal issue is identity of  lessee More often than you might expect, the lease for … [Continue reading...]