Conversion Does Not Create Indentured Servitude or Peonage Why Eeyore Would Be Disappointed By Justin Farishon The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865, prohibits involuntary servitude in the U.S. and “any place s…
An Involuntary Conversion of an Individual Case to Chapter 11 Violates the Thirteenth Amendment By Brett Weiss Historically, the Bankruptcy Code has not allowed creditors to force individuals to reorganize. A debtor must voluntarily choose …
The Separate-Filings Rule Is Neither Practical nor Equitable for Debtors or the Estate By Edward Boltz The separate-filings rule is often described as the most technically precise approach to allocating joint tax refunds between spouses in …
Should Courts Use the Separate-Filings Rule to Allocate Tax Refunds Among Spouses? By James C. Lanik When spouses file a joint chapter 7 petition, two estates are created, 1 although those estates are typically jointly administered. 2 The a…
To Tell or Not to Tell Isn’t Really a Question: A Debtor’s Duty to Disclose By Hon. Elizabeth L. Gunn and Nisha R. Patel 1 The filing of a bankruptcy petition creates an estate comprised of “virtually all the debtor’s assets,” 2 or, more sp…
“What Happens Post-Petition Stays Post-Petition!”: A Debtor Is Not Required to Disclose Assets Acquired Beyond the Subset of § 541(a)(5) Property Within 180 Days of the Petition By David Cox At the outset, it is important to clarify the iss…
Good-Faith Conversion Results in Retention of Post-Petition Appreciation By Michelle H. Bass Chapter 7 trustees in the Eighth and Ninth Circuits currently benefit from the holdings in Castleman 1 and Goetz. 2 These opinions permit the recov…
In a Chapter 7 Conversion, Where the Debtor Resides Determines Who Keeps an Asset’s Appreciation By Nauni Manty A debtor under a confirmed chapter 13 plan has been making regular plan payments for several months, or perhaps a few years. For…
Lawyer Math, Jointly Owned Property and Judicial Liens, Oh My! Section 522(f) and Co-Owned Property By Hon. Elizabeth L. Gunn 1 and Evanthea Hammer Exemptions are one of the key elements to an individual debtor’s fresh start provided by the…