An odd quirk in California’s bankruptcy exemptions was eliminated when the exclusion for pain and suffering damages was deleted by the legislature. Before January, 2013, someone filing bankruptcy could exempt money recovered for a personal injury up to $17,425. But no part of any recovery for pain and suffering associated with that injury was exempt. […]
Means Test Not Sole Measure Of Bankruptcy Abuse
Two appeals courts hold that a bankruptcy judge may dismiss a Chapter 7 case based on ability to pay debts, even if the debtors pass the means test. Increasingly over the last 20 years, Congress has tried to put Chapter 7 off limits to debtors who can pay a meaningful portion of their debts. For […]
Lien Strips Live in Chapter 20
Twenty is my favorite number these days. The Oakland bankruptcy judges have ruled consistent with one another that lien stipping in Chapter 13 is allowed in a case where the debtor isn’t eligible for a discharge. Chapter 20 lives and thrives!! Before you run off to the law library looking for Chapter 20, I confess […]
Car Crazy In Bankruptcy Court
My client wants to keep paying on his car after bankruptcy. The lender wants my client to keep paying on his car after bankruptcy. Yet it took an afternoon in court for a hearing set by the judge on approval of my client’s reaffirmation agreement with the car lender to get everyone what they wanted. What […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: M Is For Modify
M is for Modify in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. The Bankruptcy Code provides that a borrower can modify the terms of some secured debts, like car loans, judgment liens, and some mortgages. And in the midst of the current pandemic mess, the automatic stay can prevent foreclosure while a homeowner seeks a mortgage modification on their […]
Word rant: seizure of mortgaged homes
Perhaps I’m feeling particularly crotchety today, but the use of the word “seize” to describe foreclosures seems to me a bit overblown. Headlines like these abound: California Foreclosures Jeopardize Renters as Banks Seize HomesBanks Seize 288K Homes in Q3,Banks seize record number of homes Webster’s dictionary offered this as one definition of seize: To take […]
Financial education program worthwhile
Stand by: I’m going to say something nice about BAPCPA, the bankruptcy “reform” law of 2005. The debtor education requirement that is a condition of getting a discharge is a good idea. Just this week, two clients have reported that they learned useful stuff from the required program. Filing bankruptcy is a teachable moment for […]
Another voice in the savings chorus
I am not alone! A Wisconsin judge allowed Chapter 7 debtors to contribute to retirement savings in the face of a means test challenge claiming savings was an abuse of the bankruptcy system. Hurray! Another in the small band of those touting savings. In the Mravik case, the debtor’s Chapter 7 means test, which does […]
Cash collateral in consumer cases
What’s cash collateral, and why should you care? You care because there’s a whole set of rules in bankruptcy to protect a creditor’s interest in cash collateral, and ugly consequences if you ignore those rules. But you don’t have to have a traditional business to have cash collateral, and the duties it brings, in a […]
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