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…

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…

Legislative Highlights Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Double Chapter 7 Trustee Compensation for No-Asset Cases Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on May 7 introduced S. 1659, the “Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2025,” 1 to double…

President’s Column This is the first column that I’ve written after this year’s Annual Spring Meeting, and although it will be summer before you read these words, that conference is still fresh in my mind. I loved seeing many of you at the …

Legislative Highlights N.Y. Fed: U.S. Household Debt Increased 1 Percent in Q1 2025; Student Loan Delinquencies Rise Sharply The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data on May 13 1 issued its Quarterly Report on Hou…

President’s Column I’m writing this column only days after returning from ABI’s Annual Spring Meeting in late April in Washington, D.C. For me, the conference was special on so many levels. The Education Committee, led by Hon. Michelle M. H…

Broad Scope, or Slippery Slope? Justifications of Johnson By Jeffrey Fraser In Johnson v. Home State Bank, 1 the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a seemingly benign ruling regarding the impact of a chapter 7 discharge on a mortgage claim, conclu…

Legislative Highlights Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect Employees When Businesses File for Bankruptcy U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley…

President’s Column I could not be more honored to be stepping into the role of ABI’s President on the heels of a long line of dedicated and talented past Presidents, most recently Christopher A. Ward of Polsinelli (Wilmington, Del.). I’ve s…

The Army’s Dependent Support Requirement: A DSO Under Title 11? By John R. Serrano 1 Staff Sergeant (SSG) Snuffy serves on active duty in a stateside military installation. He is married and has one child. The U.S. Army provides him with an…