Current Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Client I have a client that is currently in a chapter 13 bankruptcy case, but is struggling to make her plan payments. The trustee has filed a motion to dismiss the case for failure to make timely payments. My client is approximately $1500 behind even though her trustee payments are being+ Read More The post Re-Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Provides A Welcome Surprise appeared first on David M. Siegel.

This article in the Norfolk paper about Portfolio Recovery explains something I had only guessed at, before.  Debt collectors know when your finances improve.  Debt collectors pay the credit bureaus to tell them. I’m a Virginia bankruptcy attorney, and I know people want to put off filing bankruptcy for as long as possible. Some people come […] The post Debt Collectors will be on you like a duck on a junebug by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.

This post is specifically directed to consumer bankruptcy attorneys located in the Chicago area. The American bankruptcy Institute is holding their seventh annual Chicago consumer bankruptcy conference to be held on November 11, 2014. The conference will take place at the University of Chicago Gleacher center. The conference will focus on current issues affecting debtors+ Read More The post 7th Annual Chicago Consumer Bankruptcy Conference appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyers Chicago bankruptcy lawyers want to have their clients’ bankruptcy cases be determined to be no asset cases by the panel trustees. This rather simple expression means that the debtor is not going to lose any property while going through the bankruptcy process. As a bankruptcy lawyer, my goal is to get a+ Read More The post Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyers Want To Hear The Chapter 7 Trustee State “I’ll Make A Finding Of No Assets.” appeared first on David M. Siegel.

What’s the Legal Fee for Chapter 13 in Virginia? People ask all the time, what’s the legal fee for Chapter 13? That should be easy, but it’s tough.  Here’s my attempt at a straight answer. The fee I charge you in chapter 13 is set in two ways.  By agreement between you and me, and […]The post Overtime Charges and the Legal Fee for Chapter 13 by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.

When the Supreme Court struck down the Bankruptcy Reform Act's grant of authority to bankruptcy judges in 1982, it took it took them 29 years to return to the issue.    This allowed bankruptcy law to develop and mature without constantly fretting about whether the whole system would collapse.   However, since Stern v. Marshall, 131 S.Ct. 2594 (2011), the high court has shown renewed concern with how our nation's courts of financial last resort function.   While this term's unanimous decision in Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison, No. 12-1200 (6/9/14) was notable for what it didn't decide (see my prior post here), the Supreme Court is going to try again.   On July 1, 2014, the court granted cert in Wellness International Network Limited v. Sharif, 727 F.3d 751 (7th Cir. 2013).   What HappenedThe Seventh Circuit case began when Richard Sharif sued Wellness International (WIN), claiming it was a pyramid scheme.   Sharif did not cooperate in discovery and ended up on the receiving end of a judgment for $650,000.   When he filed bankruptcy, WIN objected to his discharge and also sought a declaration that a trust was Sharif's alter ego.   After Sharif failed to fully respond to discovery once again, the Bankruptcy Court entered default judgment against him on all counts.   The Seventh Circuit affirmed the Bankruptcy Court's denial of discharge, but found that it lacked authority to enter a final judgment on the alter ego claim.   The Issues on Cert The Supreme Court granted cert on two points:(1) Whether the presence of a subsidiary state property law issue in a 11 U.S.C. § 541 action brought against a debtor to determine whether property in the debtor’s possession is property of the bankruptcy estate means that such action does not “stem[] from the bankruptcy itself” and therefore, that a bankruptcy court does not have the constitutional authority to enter a final order deciding that action; and (2) whether Article III permits the exercise of the judicial power of the United States by the bankruptcy courts on the basis of litigant consent, and if so, whether implied consent based on a litigant’s conduct is sufficient to satisfy Article III.What It Might Mean If this case produces a direct answer on the issues granted (unlike Executive Benefits), it could be earthshaking.   If the Supremes find that Bankruptcy Courts lack authority to determine state law issues necessary to find whether assets are property of the estate, it would be a crippling blow to the ability of the system to function.   If the court gives a clear answer on consent/waiver, it will provide the answer missing in Executive Benefits.  Bankruptcy practitioners will be watching with great interest and trepidation as the Supreme Court examines both whether and how our unique courts will be allowed to function  (or not) for the third time this decade.  The fact that the court is taking a second crack at the consent issue suggests that there are some justices on the court who were not satisfied with this term's non-answer.   

Three years after bankruptcy–from the depths of despair to building a retirement home. I love being a bankruptcy lawyer, because I can help almost everyone I see. Just before the July 4 Holiday, while I was rushing to wrap up some work,  this email came from a a friend I’ll call John Blackstone. He encouraged […]The post A New Start In Life–Out of the Depths of Dispair by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.

Filing for bankruptcy is complicated and stressful. You may be confused about what you are asked, or the state of your finances. This may lead you to be inaccurate or not thorough. And rumors and misconceptions about bankruptcy lead people to hide assets and not be upfront with their attorneys. All of this can lead to huge problems down the road. Below are the five biggest mistakes bankruptcy filers make when they file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.The post The Top 5 Mistakes Bankruptcy Filers Make appeared first on Tucson Bankruptcy Attorney.

The number of new cases through my doors is down, just like it is everywhere. But I’m staying busy.   Busier some days than I would like to be. I thought it might be fun to look at the change in the composition of my cases over the past two years. More complicated cases There don’t seem to be any simple cases anymore.  Debtors who have managed to avoid filing bankruptcy til this late in the Great Recession don’t lead simple lives.  Their issues are more complicated, the competing interests are stronger. Complex cases take more of my time and support a larger fee. Bankruptcy litigation I’ve just completed the liability phase of a nondischargeability case, defending a debtor from charges that his moonlighting in the same field as his employer created a non dischargeable debt. While bankruptcy litigation is down along with filings, there always seem to be more need for good bankruptcy trial lawyers than there is supply. There are certainly more discharge violations than are ever enforced for the benefit of our clients.  Go on, make that discharge mean something. Mortgage servicing complaints For all the attention that mortgage servicing has gotten lately, it doesn’t seem to have gotten any better.  I’m finding that in or out of bankruptcy, homeowners have issues with the servicing on their loans. And, praise be, we have some new tools to help homeowners in the beefed up procedures for getting information from the servicers. I’m just getting back the first wave of responses to my requests for information on behalf of clients.  It remains to be seen whether the fixes will be administrative or litigation driven. It’s clear to me that there is a need for accountability in the servicing world. Bankruptcy intersects family law The family law bar feeds me cases as fast as I can digest them.  Most families are fairly financially precarious when intact.  The same income can seldom support two separate households.  Bankruptcy can at least start the former spouses out with less economic baggage. Yesterday’s new case involved the rights of a family lawyer against the other spouse in that spouse’s bankruptcy case.  The family court awarded the lawyers a lien on the community’s share of a partnership holding a commercial building.  My task will be to figure out the extent which that lien is enforceable in a Chapter 7 case. Housekeeping deferred So far, my days have been busy without resorting to cleaning my office or updating my client handouts. How about you?  What’s keeping you busy?   Image courtesy of Flickr and John Haslam.

Starting an Individual Retirement Account, or IRA, is pretty easy. You can call a financial adviser, or even do it online. You can avoid paying tax on the money when you contribute it (in a traditional IRA) or when you withdraw it (in a Roth IRA). IR As are usually well-protected in bankruptcy, subject to some rules about when they were first funded and how recently. For instance, if you file for bankruptcy tomorrow, and last week you transferred $50,000 into the IRA, you may have problems. Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer before you transfer any assets and to determine when if at all you may plan to file a bankruptcy in the future. The good news as we mentioned is that IR As are broadly protected. The bad news is that a recent decision of the US Supreme Court tells courts that you cannot exempt an IRA you inherited from someone else (like a parent) through the traditional exemptions that protect your assets from creditors. The case that decided it, called Clark v. Rameker, came out of Wisconsin. The courts had a difficult time balancing what retirement and tax laws said versus what the bankruptcy laws say. There wasn’t a clear cut answer. But the Supreme Court has decided. So unless Congress (or the state legislatures) change the exemptions, we need to know if the IRA you may have was one you started or if you inherited it. That way we can best advise you. If you’re contemplating a bankruptcy and have a retirement account, don’t be surprised if we ask you for more details. The more information we have, the better we can assist you. Please call us at Lakelaw (847-249-9100 in Illinois, 262-694-7300 in Wisconsin) or visit our website at www.lakelaw.com to arrange a free consultation and discuss what assets can be protected from creditors in bankruptcy.