Bankruptcy Mastery

Becoming a better bankruptcy lawyer

Coronavirus & The Law

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice, Breaking

covid-19 resources

In the face of pandemic and economic stasis,  information is both vital and fleeting. I'm going to collect here links to sources of information  useful to consumer lawyers as I find them. As always, check the dates on the linked resources, as I fully expect change, and more change as we work our way through this crisis. General legal resources ABA Covid-19 articles and resources- no … [Continue reading...]

Mortgage Matters In Times Of COVID-19

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

mortgage

Is it 2008 again? For us in the mortgage industry, we woke up this week feeling as if during the night, we were transported back to 2008 when the mortgage industry basically collapsed. Then, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHA were the exceptions. As of March 25, 2020, like everything else, the world of mortgage lending has been once again been turned on its head. Here we are again, … [Continue reading...]

Charting The Course of A Case

By Filed Under: Before filing, Start Here

Planning the bankruptcy often determines whether the case succeeds or fails. To obtain good results for a bankruptcy client, sometimes you have to serve up unpleasant news and force the client to swallow that bitter pill. Hum a chorus of You Can't Always Get What You Want. Of course, you can't really force them to do anything, but you should reconsider taking on a client who shrugs off your … [Continue reading...]

Black Decision Sheds Light On Vesting Questions

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

shedding light on vesting

Clouds of uncertainty have hovered over Chapter 13 debtors who find that they need to sell appreciated property before the case is over. Does appreciation occurring after filing go to creditors on the theory that the appreciation is property of the estate? Or does the vesting of property at confirmation entitle the debtor to any post petition appreciation? With the 9th Circuit BAP's … [Continue reading...]

Taxes & Timing: Calculating Outcomes for Bankruptcy Debtors

By Filed Under: Tax

bankruptcy tax refund

Bankruptcy lawyers regularly evaluate the dischargeability of taxes when deciding when to file a client's bankruptcy case. At base, the 3 year rule, the 2 year rule, and the 240 day rule routinely drive timing of a bankruptcy. But as we approach the end of the tax year, a client’s current year tax situation becomes another moving part in the “when do we file” analysis, unrelated to tax … [Continue reading...]

First Principles For First Meetings

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Once again, I sat in a 341 meeting where the trustee purported to deliver vital information to the assembled debtors. She had a captive audience of anxious listeners.  She had ostensible power of life and death over their financial future. They needed to know what she had to say. But as communication, it failed.  Badly.  For utterly avoidable reasons. The delivery was rushed, mumbled, … [Continue reading...]

When Worlds of Bankruptcy & Family Law Collide

By Filed Under: Family Law in Bankruptcy

bankruptcy family law

Bankruptcy, actual or threatened, can cause a genuine disruption in the force when divorce is on the table. That collision can be liberating or disruptive, depending on the timing of a bankruptcy filing and the goals of your client. Because the fallout from a bankruptcy case can be overwhelming, family lawyers need a working knowledge of how federal bankruptcy law can impact the financial … [Continue reading...]

When The Means Test Is Meaningless

By Filed Under: Means test

bankruptcy means test

A local bankruptcy attorney stumbled over the most basic part of the  means test. Just this week...  nearly 15 years after the bankruptcy "reform" act of 2005. I thought we were several years past bankruptcy attorneys  clueless about the means test. But apparently not. This fine fellow told a couple that they couldn't file Chapter 7 because they had $3000 of disposable income per month.  … [Continue reading...]

Win Now, Wreck Later: A Tale of Bankruptcy and Mortgage Servicing

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

My Google Alert popped up a lovely win for a Chapter 13 homeowner , but all I could see was the train wreck that lies ahead. The bankruptcy court ruled that the confirmed (and completed) plan trumped a late-filed mortgage proof of claim. Payment of the amount provided in the plan cured the prepetition arrearage. I'm on board so far. But I doubt this resolution will be the last dispute on … [Continue reading...]

Secrets To Home Loans For Chapter 13 Debtors

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

  Every bankruptcy debtor yearns to rebuild their credit.  Whatever drove them to bankruptcy did no favors to their creditworthiness. The need for a new loan can be imperative to a homeowner in Chapter 13 who needs a better interest rate, a recomputed loan term, or just needs out of Chapter 13 with a discharge. Here's what it takes to get a home loan after filing bankruptcy, from a … [Continue reading...]

By Filed Under: Opinionated

become bankruptcy lawyer?

Amid the comfortable camaraderie of the Chapter 13 bar's holiday gathering, the trustee and I were struck by the paucity of young, or even youngish, faces in the group. The stout, dedicated lawyers who've toiled in the ND CA bankruptcy courts (rather magnificently, if you ask me) are growing old. And neither the trustee nor I could formulate an honest reason why a capable young lawyer should … [Continue reading...]

Rule 3002.1 And The Tangled Web of HOA Assessments

By Filed Under: Rule 3002.1

The Hadfeg decision  was delivered to me in response to a standing search for bankruptcy decisions involving FRBP 3002.1. But multi strands of legal theories run through this one.  The questions, answered and unanswered, are tantalizing. The facts are thus: Prepetition HOA dues scheduled for $5000, while HOA later claimed it was $33,000. No proof of claim  filed by HOA Post … [Continue reading...]