What’s a Chapter 13 pot plan, you ask. Not one drafted while under the influence, for sure. A “pot plan” is the contrast to a “percentage plan“. They are alternative ways to summarize the measure of what the debtor in a Chapter 13 plan proposes to pay into the plan. A percentage plan reads something […]
How Much Does My Plan Have To Pay?
When an inexperienced Chapter 13 practitioner asks how much a plan has to propose to pay, I envision the Carnac the Magnificent routine from the Johnny Carson show. Carnak, in turban and robes, puts the sealed envelope with the question to his forehead, provides an answer, then opens the envelope to read the question. The […]
Why Ask Why?
Any parent who’s lived through the terrible 2’s knows the appeal, and the annoyance, of the question “why”. Life, to a two year old, is a series of interconnected questions. Why are things this way? Why? The centrality of that question to bankruptcy lawyers surprised me this weekend when Jay Fleischman and I conducted a […]
Scary Peak At Loan Mod Future
Loan modifications and the relative casualness with which they are documented scare me. Given the glaring problems that loan servicers have in accounting for payments made by borrowers and expenses charged to loans, the idea that those same people at the servicer are making good records about modifications seems naive. Consider that the same people […]
Five Shortcuts To The Latest In Bankruptcy
Someone asked me the other day how I keep up on cases. I bit my tongue, since my usual sense about advance sheets and the like is that I’m horribly behind. (I’m so behind I’m talking about “advance sheets”, cases printed on paper!). Reading my email seems to consume a disproportionate portion of the day. […]
How To Avoid Being Thrown Under The Bankruptcy Bus
Bankruptcy lawyers find themselves thrown under the proverbial bus time and again. Clients contradict themselves, trustees speak poorly of us during hearings, and even judges from time to time have been known to call us on the carpet for perceived shortcomings. Sometimes we’re caught in a position due to an unforeseen turn of events. Other […]
Why No Look Fees Are No Good For Bankruptcy Lawyers
No look fees for bankruptcy cases are comfortable and easy for the practitioner. You can quote a fee for a Chapter 13 confident that most other attorneys in town are quoting the same fee. No fear of price competition. The client likes it. It appears to offer certainty in an uncertain world to someone worried […]
