A bankruptcy lawyer seems to often have the unpleasant task of telling a debtor that their possessions have little value. I don’t know whether it’s a defense mechanism or just ingrained thinking, but I have clients tell me all the time that their assets have values far beyond what seems likely in the current market. […]
Bankruptcy Procedure Question? Ask a Clerk
The bankruptcy judge ordered me to get the signature of an absent party on the written version of the order just made from the bench. So, what to do when that party was unwilling to sign? When the judge signed the order anyway, opposing counsel complemented me on knowing how to deal with the problem. […]
Develop a Bankruptcy Filing Checklist
As bankruptcy lawyers, we don’t usually face the life and death situations that doctors do, but we do take our client’s financial lives in our hands. For their sakes, and ours, we want to get it right. Which is why I found Atul Gawande’s book The Checklist Manifesto compelling. The premise of the book is […]
Discharging Taxes in Bankruptcy: This Year’s Trap
Income taxes are dischargeable in bankruptcy if they meet the three year rule; the two year rule; and the 240 day rule. When you count back for the three year rule (the date on which the return was last due without penalty is more than three years prior to the date the bankruptcy is filed), […]
Alternative to Bankruptcy: Do Nothing
Bankruptcy lawyers sometimes forget: not everyone worried about debt actually needs to file bankruptcy. The anxiety that brings someone to your office may not be grounded in a real understanding of the rights of their creditors. I recently saw a woman drawing disability pay and looking at very substantial retirement income. It seemed unlikely that […]
Taxes Owed from Day One of New Year
April 15th is so ingrained in our thinking as Tax Day that it’s easy to forget that the tax for the previous year is owed on the first day of the next tax year. Payment isn’t due til April 15th, but the obligation exists before the return and payment are due. Why is this important […]
Beware the Emergency Bankruptcy Filing
Real danger for client and lawyer lurks in the emergency bankruptcy petition: File without all the information about the client’s assets and recent transfers and you risk getting family members sued and the client losing assets. Not to mention your loss of face or worse. Avoidable transfers Chapter 5 of the Bankruptcy Code deals with […]
