Consumer Bankruptcy Committee

Sometimes it is better for the trustee not to object to an “arguably” inapplicable claim of exemption. That’s one of the takeaways from the Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in Biondo v. Gold, Lange, Majoros & Smalarz P.C. (In re Biondo) [1].

One year ago, the value of cryptocurrencies exploded. Some invested their life savings to purchase crypto, [1] and some made lucrative, life-changing returns doing so. [2] By the summer of 2022, though, crypto had crashed.

A chapter 13 bankruptcy allows a defaulted homeowner the unique benefit of saving real property, along with other secured debt. Given the benefits of chapter 13, this particular type of bankruptcy has the ability to help a large mass of people, and as such requires an orderly administration.

It has been two years since the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the BAP’s ruling [1] in In re Lerbakken [2] disallowing a debtor’s claimed exemption in retirement funds awarded by divorce dissolution under 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(C).

As the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (the Act) works through its rebellious teenage years, courts continue to address debtor behavior through the provisions of the Act impacting the applicability of the automatic stay.

In the wreck of the Great Recession, numerous borrowers sought to avoid their homestead’s foreclosure despite material payment defaults. Many took advantage of chapter 13, which empowers, inter alia, an individual with a regular income to cure precisely such failures over time under § 1322 (b)(5).

One year into the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment rates have already surpassed the high levels seen during the Great Recession in 2009. [1] Like everyone in this country and around the world, debtors are struggling.

When a debtor reaffirms a dischargeable debt, this means the obligation will survive discharge and continue to be enforceable.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA), which passed in Congress on Dec. 27, 2020, introduced some noteworthy additions to the Bankruptcy Code. One such issue is the changing relationship between chapter 13 debtors and mortgage lenders when it comes to forbearance requests under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Regarding chapter 13, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in part allows chapter 13 debtors experiencing a material financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to modify the length of their bankruptcy plan to a maximum of 84 months [1], up to an additional 24 months if the plan was initially set at 60 months,