Bankruptcy Mastery

Checking the client's prior tax return and grilling the client allowed my partner to find and exempt  a $20,000 tax refund likely to arrive post petition, despite the fact the client never mentioned it. The client hadn't listed the expected tax refund  in his  questionnaire, but admitted,  when asked, that he usually got a substantial tax refund. ( I guess so, when the refund exceeded $20K.)   If … [Continue reading...]

It's a romantic notion that we can dive into the deep end of the pool and swim like an Olympian.  The reality, however, is remarkably different. It's human nature to believe that we're uniquely qualified by our law degree to tackle even the most difficult of situations even in the absence of training or experience. There's nothing wrong with that in matters such as cooking or building model … [Continue reading...]

What do you do when a hostile creditor shows up at a 341 meeting, and the proceeding threatens to spin out of control?  You balance the purpose of the 341 meeting, disclosure, against your client's composure and the record being created.  Com'on,  you didn't think it would be simple, did you? What goes into that balancing act?  Here's my list. The Code requires an appearance at the first … [Continue reading...]

Include the terms of an agreed loan modification in the Chapter 13 plan, John Rao of NCLC suggested at last week's NACBA convention. In light of the Supreme Court's decision in Espinosa and the notorious record keeping practices of the servicers,  inclusion in the plan may cement the benefits of the modification. Where the plan has been confirmed prior to the modification, Rao recommended a … [Continue reading...]

The 1099 form is so well recognized and imbued with authority that it is used by scammers  to authenticate their scheme.   But it's really dangerous when genuine 1099's are just plain wrong.  And according to Bill Purdy,  my go-to resource on this issue, 1099's are often wrong. When a non recourse loan is foreclosed, no matter what the spread between the amount of the debt and the fair market … [Continue reading...]

Now retired Judge Jaroslavsky popped this question on a room full of new bankruptcy lawyers:  what's the first rule for filling out a legal form? An answer from the floor suggested "make sure you have the most recent version", which I thought was pretty good.  But the judge had something else in mind:  know the purpose for which the form asks the question. There, in a nutshell, is … [Continue reading...]