Consumer Corner

To enable a fresh start, debtors often seek to avoid judicial liens that impair a claimed homestead exemption. With adjustable-rate mortgages, rising credit costs and increasing delinquencies, there is likely to be more activity in this motion practice. Debtors will be

The Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act of 1998 ("Religious Liberty Act") was the latest move in the battle between the Supreme Court and Congress over a debtor's right to tithe in bankruptcy. The Act directly targets a trustee's ability to avoid

In the uninformed rush by Congress to prevent bankruptcy abuse, §1325(a) of the Bankruptcy Code was amended by BAPCPA 1 to include a hanging paragraph at the end of §1325(a)(9). This insertion, which refers back to §1325(a)(5), states the following: For purposes of

The passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) has been the subject of most of the articles in the Consumer Corner column of this Journal for the past year. Much of the discussion has focused on the additional burdens imposed

Tying approval of a debtor's reaffirmation of mortgage debt to the reaffirmation of other unsecured debt violates the automatic stay, according to a recent decision in the First Circuit. In re Jamo, 262 B.R. 159 (1st Cir. BAP 2001). The remedy for that stay violation

The grounds for setting aside reaffirmation agreements are limited after the time to rescind has expired. Reaffirmation agreements are not favored by bankruptcy courts and are strictly construed based on conventional contract principles. 1 Debtor's counsel should