Chapter 13 bankruptcy has been used for a variety of reasons since the enactment of the Bankruptcy Code in 1978. It is often cited as the means whereby a debtor can invoke the benefits of the super discharge where potential non-dischargeabl…
A fundamental distinction exists between a consumer chapter 7 case and a chapter 13 case. This distinction pervades the way each case proceeds through the judicial system. A chapter 7 case is static: non-exempt assets held by a debtor at th…
With the end of the 106th Congress, the bipartisan effort to rewrite the consumer bankruptcy law died the death of a post-adjournment veto. Although conventional wisdom dictates that a bill identical or nearly identical to the conference re…
Chapter 13 has long been a mechanism whereby unsecured creditors can reap distributions from debtors' available post-petition income. Distributions to general unsecured creditors in chapter 13 cases have risen to provide that, in many cases…
The requirement that a chapter 13 debtor submit all disposable income to fund a chapter 13 plan is one of the foundations of chapter 13 practice. It has been seen as a basic protection to unsecured creditors that a debtor is making a best e…
Congress is once again embarking on the quest that is approached about every two decades—the search for a "fair" consumer bankruptcy system. As Congressman George W. Gekas (R-PA) noted upon the introduction of his reform bill H.R. 3150, the…