Wisconsin Eastern District

Lender Collects Only Once When Both Spouses Personally Guarantee a Debt

If a lender could collect only once outside of bankruptcy when both spouses guaranteed a debt, the result is the same in a single or joint bankruptcy by the spouses.

Plans Longer than 5 Years Can’t Be Amended Now Because Section 1329(d) Has Expired

A plan longer than five years must revert to a five-year plan now that Congress has allowed Section 1329(d) to expire, Judge Hanan says.

Courts Split on Whether Bankruptcy Discharges Future Liability on a Guarantee

Milwaukee district judge rules that bankruptcy does not cut off future liability on a personal guarantee issued before bankruptcy.

Objections to Priority Claims May Follow Confirmation of a Chapter 13 Plan

Confirming a chapter 13 plan on the assumption that a claim was entitled to priority didn’t bar the debtors from later objecting to the priority of the claim.

Discharge Cuts Off Future Liability on a Guaranty, Some Courts Hold on a Split

The ‘conduct’ test in the Seventh Circuit, not the ‘accrual test,’ determines when a claim arose and whether it was discharged.

Courts Are Split on Whether Counsel Fees Are Considered in the Chapter 13 Best Interests Test

Deferred payments to unsecured creditors in a chapter 13 plan must equal the present value of the distributions required by the best interests test, Judge Halfenger says.

Reimbursed Expenses Included in Calculating Median Income for Plan Duration

Debtor kicked into longer plan as a consequence of employer’s expense reimbursements.