Bankruptcy Mastery

Becoming a better bankruptcy lawyer

Who Is The Liar Here?

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

The mortgage mill lawyer on the other end of the phone tried to tell me my client is a liar. I bristled, but not for the insult. I bristled for the whopper opposing counsel was trying to feed me. Lenders don't reject loan mod applications because the borrower is current, he said.  You know that's not true, don't you? You expect me to believe that? You might gull me if I'd only heard it … [Continue reading...]

The Bankruptcy Rules Of The Road

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Where are the answers?

Do you need to know how much notice to give on a chapter 13 plan? What happens when a debtor dies? How to file a proof of claim or object to one already filed? When is discovery allowed in bankruptcy? The answers can be found in the bankruptcy rules. Rules: The How To Manual The bankruptcy rules dictate how to report an inheritance four months after filing, how to file a motion for … [Continue reading...]

Axe Falls On Debtor’s Counsel

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Headsman's axe

Just when I think my work here is done, I have a week like last week. Everywhere I looked, the ax was falling on debtor's counsel. Deservedly so. My Chapter 13 trustee complains that her staff is knee deep in debtor lawyer inattention and mistakes. The UST brings disgorgement motion against lawyer who took fees, then let paralegal file case without disclosure. Lawyer barred from … [Continue reading...]

When Insurance Can Be The Death Of You

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

low flying plane

Remember survey courses from college? Kinda like flying low over new territory without ever landing and getting on the ground? That's what I propose to do with the topic of insurance.  Insurance, as we see it in bankruptcy. It isn't frequently a hot topic, but when it is, the numbers are large and the possibility for egg on your face is equally large. Policies owned by the debtor Insurance, a … [Continue reading...]

The More We Get Together

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Not a bad place for a weekend, eh? The NACBA convention was great.  The two buildings on the left housed the convention. But I'm back in the real world, at home, in the realm of real people with real problems. Kudos to Tara Twomey who had a large hand in selecting the content of the weekend.  She seemed to be everywhere, talking about NCBRC or the amicus project, or just taking the pulse of the … [Continue reading...]

Why Realization Dawns Too Late

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

This time, I have a question for you. How do we get laymen to see a situation as one involving legal rights rather than just a "life event"? That question was asked of the audience at a training on new legal rights created by the California Homeowner's Bill of Rights.  That bill includes protections for tenants in properties foreclosed. The presenters admitted that the biggest challenge … [Continue reading...]

Got These Dates?

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Friday The Chapter13 trustees ' Academy is sponsoring a free Means Test webinar Friday, April 19, 2:00 Eastern/1:00 Central. (Somehow they forgot to hold the hands of those of us in the Pacific time zone.  My sources say that would be 11 am. PDT.) Projected Disposable Income (a/k/a Expected Unrecognizable Outcome):  United States Bankruptcy Judge Fredrick E. Clement and Chapter 13 Trustee … [Continue reading...]

Projecting Tax Expense In A Life In Flux

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

When your client's tax situation is changing, projecting taxes for the means test becomes more challenging. We talked earlier about correcting projected taxes for means test purposes when the situation is stable and the debtor is either under or over-withheld. When there are more moving parts, for tax purposes, you've got different adjustments to make. Loss of deductions The most frequent … [Continue reading...]

Business Bankruptcy and The Bingo Effect

By Filed Under: Before filing, Business bankruptcy

phantom creditors

The lives of business bankruptcy clients are peopled with a less than obvious cast of creditors. You need to flush them out and herd them in line before the case is filed. Near miss I had a close call, or rather my client had a close call, this week when some new information just slipped out. Thankfully, it was prepetition. The client, a very bright entrepreneur,  thought that … [Continue reading...]

Tax Withholding Not Etched in Stone

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

© kasparart - Fotolia.com

Taxes are one of the means test expense items that I have labeled as a gamechanger. Those gamechangers are entries on B-22 where a thorough bankruptcy lawyer has an opportunity to significantly alter the disposable monthly income. Facility here starts with the concept that the "right" tax figure may not be what's been withheld from the debtor's paycheck.  Expenses are forward looking With … [Continue reading...]

What’s It Worth To You?

By Filed Under: Chapter 13

Business valuation

If all the children in Lake Woebegon are above average, all the small businesses our clients run are quite valuable. If the Chapter 13 trustee is asking the question, anyway. I rail when the Chapter 13 trustee's business questionnaire asks "how much would you sell your business for." Phrased that way, the question implicates all kinds of facts that aren't in play in Chapter 13. First, … [Continue reading...]

Hat Tip For Timeless Little Tips

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

It's the little things that count. My life in the law is so much richer and more productive as a result of help, encouragement and brainstorming I've shared with lots of marvelous mentors and friends. But two people stand out, not just for their generousity with their knowledge, but for the common here's-how-you-get-it-done tips. My hat's off to David Leibowitz and April Charney for … [Continue reading...]