Consumer

Consumer

Debtors frequently emerge from bankruptcy still burdened by a burgeoning student loan debt. A private “loan for an educational benefit” can limit the fresh start many debtors need is increasingly being used to test the nondischargeability of might have once been general unsecured claims. This panel will discuss the emerging issues and case law surrounding nondischargeability, as well as strategies for maximizing the benefits of the bankruptcy system for struggling debtors.

The information you glean from Part I needs to be viewed with the practical approach found in Part II. If you are challenging dischargeability, how do you prove it? All debtors are in a hardship, but what is an undue hardship, and again, what evidence should you have at the ready to prove the debtor’s case. Using a short vignette, this panel will address the evidentiary and practical quandaries that must be overcome in order to plead and prove a case for dischargeability of loans under Section 523(a)(8).

Discussion on the chapter 7 trustees’ powers to do a carve-out, the new use of short sales in chapter 7, and the most effective way to sell assets in today’s economic environment. Does the creditor have a say in the trustee’s course of action?

Panelists will cover the proper disclosure of assets in a Chapter 7 proceeding held pre-petition as well as assets obtained post-petition and after confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan, including the debtor’s continuing duty and the timing of required disclosures. Properly advise your client when there has been a change of income, receipt of inheritance, life insurance, lawsuit proceeds, or a national mortgage settlement. Gain knowledge of the implications for making or failing to make the disclosures of the debtor’s assets.

Consumer

Plenary Session