Ongoing retirement saving by Chapter 13 debtors has been a touchy subject since the means test became a part of the bankruptcy scene. The means test was intended to squeeze every available dollar from consumer debtors. It works by limiting the expenses that can be deducted from income in figuring what a debtor can/must pay […]
Glimmer of Hope For Change In Student Loan Dischargeability
A small opening in the legal barrier to discharging student loans in bankruptcy has appeared in a case called Roth. To discharge a student loan in bankruptcy, the borrower must show that repayment of the loan would cause he and his dependents undue hardship. The test for what constitutes “undue hardship” is many circuits the […]
The One Fix Silicon Valley Bankruptcy Courts Need
Despite BAPCPA, the 2005 “reform” that made bankruptcy more complex and more expensive, consumer bankruptcy is working fairly well in Northern California. The bar has learned to navigate the new law, shuffle the additional forms and avoid the events of “automatic dismissal”. We only need one little change to the law to make relief from […]
Oakland Bankruptcy Judge Upheld At 9th Circuit
Ruling against the California Franchise Tax Board, the 9th Circuit upheld Oakland bankruptcy judge Edward Jellen’s decision in the Chapter 13 case of Brenda Marie Jones. At issue was whether Jones could discharge a state tax debt in her Chapter 7 case; the question turned on an arcane question of what the Bankruptcy Code means […]
No Recourse for Junior Lien in Short Sale
Junior lenders who consent to a short sale of underwater homes are barred from seeking to collect anything further from sellers under a newly enacted California statute. The law, signed on July 15, 2011, becomes effective immediately. It applies to properties, held by individuals, comprising 1-4 residential units. Senate Bill 458 accords the same restrictions […]
New California law protects sellers in short sales
Effective January 1, 2011, a lender who approves a short sale of California residential property may not look to the seller for the shortfall. The addition to the California Code of Civil Procedure at Section 580(e) applies only to properties of one to four units and has an exception if the seller commits waste or […]
“Chapter 20” Lives in Northern California Bankruptcy Courts
Debtors with a Chapter 7 discharge too recently to get a discharge in a subsequent Chapter 13 can strip off underwater mortgage liens under a decision issued by Judge Edward Jellen in the Oakland division. This has been a simmering issue, since the guidelines issued by the judges in the Northern District of California include […]
