The provisions of 11 U.S.C. §1327(a) clearly state: The provisions of a confirmed plan bind the debtor and each creditor, whether or not the claim of such creditor is provided for by the plan, and whether or not such creditor has objected t…
In the past, traditional mortgage lenders automatically rejected people who had declared personal bankruptcy. Many potential homebuyers felt they must wait at least seven to 10 years after a bankruptcy to be eligible to become homeowners. M…
Student loan obligations are becoming not only more prevalent but also significantly larger. There is no doubt that several factors are driving this situation— e.g., the ever-increasing cost of post-secondary education and the decreasing va…
Over the course of the last several months, three submissions to the ABI Journal have dealt with proof-of-claim documentation and related issues. 1 This topic has sharply divided bankruptcy practitioners into the obvious segments of credito…
In consumer chapter 7 cases, the debtor frequently will be the lessee under an unexpired residential or a vehicle lease. Because these leases rarely, if ever, benefit the estate, the trustee generally will not assume a residential or consum…
It is often said that variety is the spice of life. Well, it may be that there is too much spice in the judicial recipe for the debtor's redemption of an automobile pursuant to §722 of the Code. Statutory interpretation by the U.S. Bankrupt…
The number of claims administered by chapter 13 trustees has increased, leading to more disbursements to more creditors from debtors who are capable of paying more money pursuant to their confirmed plans. This puts a burden on creditors as …
Over the past year, nearly every insolvency organization in the nation has conducted a conference in Las Vegas, which might lead one to think that the year has been about gambling, luck, cocktails, decadence and shows. But, even through the…
Almost invariably, a consumer debtor will ask "what do I get to keep?" or "what do I lose?" Unlike dischargeability questions, which arise in relatively few consumer cases, the question of what property the debtor will retain arises in all …
The concept of limited representation in litigation, frequently called "unbundling," is an emerging issue across the country, principally in the family law field. While a significant degree of philosophical hostility exists to the concept t…