The Rest of the Story, Sugar By Hon. Elizabeth L. Gunn and Olivia Woodmansee In March 2025, when the Fourth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a chapter 13 debtor’s case with prejudice after she sold her home post-petition without a prior co…

Event Roundup Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop Convenes in Chocolate Town, U.S.A. This year’s Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop, geared toward practitioners in the Mid-Atlantic region, was held Aug. 18-20 in Hershey, Pa., at the family-frien…

“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…

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…

Legislative Highlights GENIUS Act Signed into Law to Provide Framework for Stablecoins President Donald J. Trump on July 18 signed the “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act” (GENIUS Act; Public Law No. 119-2…

President’s Column As I write this, I’m in the midst of a multi-hour delay at Jacksonville, Fla., airport on what has been a “three conferences in three weeks” tour: ABI’s Northeast Bankruptcy Conference & Consumer Forum in my old stomp…

Partial Surrender of Personal Property Secured by a Cross-Collateralized Loan Under § 1325(a)(5) By Maxwell Milavetz and Sarah Laybourne Cross-collateralized loans are attractive to creditors who can leverage equity in one piece of collater…

President’s Column As I have often said, being a judge is a privilege. In a job full of privileges, two of the happiest — and most meaningful — things that I ever got to do is preside over naturalization ceremonies for new American citizens…

The Case for Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Fee Retention in Pre-Confirmation Dismissals By Daryl J. Smith Chapter 13 is an essential component of the U.S. consumer bankruptcy system, offering debtors an opportunity to reorganize their finance…

Benchnotes By Aaron M. Kaufman, Bradley D. Pack and Christina Sanfelippo 1 Ninth Circuit: Section 1322(c)(2) Allows Bifurcation of Short-Term Loans Secured Against Debtors’ Primary Residences In Mission Hen LLC v. Lee, 2 the Ninth Circuit c…