Courts Are Split on Including a Nonfiling Spouse’s Social Security Benefits
Judge Beth Buchanan decided that the ‘totality of the circumstances’ test for ‘abuse’ doesn’t permit disregarding the exemption for Social Security benefits.
U.S. Trustee Dodged Payment of Attorneys’ Fees Under the Equal Access to Justice Act
The Sixth Circuit holds that a debtor cannot recover attorneys’ fees from the U.S. Trustee under the EAJA in a contested matter, but leaves open the possibility of liability for counsel fees in a losing adversary proceeding.
Recognition of Income-Based Repayment of Student Debt in Disposable Income
Recognition of Income-Based Repayment of Student Debt in Disposable Income By Michael Polkoff Student loan debt has generated significant discourse on how it should be treated during bankruptcy, 1 yet the income-based-repayment (IBR) alternative intended to reduce the
IRS Standard Deduction for Housing Can Be Taken Without Mortgage or Rent Expense
Official Form 122C-2 could be read to deprive a chapter 13 debtor of the IRS standard housing deduction when the statute permits the deduction.
A Refinanced Consumer Loan Might Not Be a ‘Consumer Debt,’ Ninth Circuit Says
Refinancing a consumer loan to obtain a lower interest rate might make an individual debtor eligible for chapter 7.