Consumer Corner

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 effort to repay debts. The

In consumer chapter 7 cases, the debtor frequently will be the lessee under an unexpired residential or a vehicle lease. Because these leases rarely, if ever, benefit the estate, the trustee generally will not assume a residential or consumer personal property lease

In April's Consumer Corner, we began to consider whether the middle class is about to shatter. While the April article examined the trend between 1980 and 2000, this article focuses on the 90s—a decade that saw bankruptcies explode during an eight-year period of

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 public perception is that for

One of the most frequently asked questions by persons ensnared in a bankruptcy for the first time is the bankruptcy's effect on a creditor's right to pursue a claim against the debtor. Often overlooked by debtors and creditors alike, 11 U.S.C. §108 1 prescribes the

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 distribution can be

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 report on H.R. 2415 will be

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-dischargeable debts are present. It has