Consumer Bankruptcy

ABI’s Consumer Commission is charged with researching and recommending improvements to the consumer bankruptcy system that can be implemented within its existing structure. Join us for the first of two commission hearings at the WLC to solicit what such changes might include, from amendments to the Bankruptcy Code and Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, to administrative rules or actions, to recommendations on proper interpretations of existing law, and other best practices that judges, trustees and lawyers can implement. The hearings will be on matters common to both chapters 7 and 13.

Be the first to understand what new Bankruptcy Rule 3015 means to you, if anything (Rule 3015 can be elected or not in a given district), and to fellow attorneys in nearby districts. Our panel of experts will discuss how certain districts are implementing this new rule.

This panel will feature a roundtable discussion with bankruptcy judges from the Ninth Circuit and across the country. The judges will share their thoughts and perspectives, as well as take questions from the audience, on topics of current interest in both business and consumer cases.

Panel will provide an overview of the intersection between bankruptcy and family law. The discussion will include the effects on property of the estate when one spouse does not file, community and separate property issues, scope of automatic stay, collection against non-debtor spouse, and other related family law issues as they intersect with bankruptcy.

This annual favorite will cover all recent bankruptcy law decisions and current consumer bankruptcy law issues, and is a must-attend for professionals to stay current on consumer bankruptcy law issues.

The chapter 13 debtor’s plan is expiring, and the trustee issues a notice of final cure payment and completion of plan payments. Your client tells you it’s wrong and says there are uncured pre-petition and post-petition defaults, escrow shortages and unpaid attorney fees. What do you do? This session will cover understanding Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3002.1 and Local Bankruptcy Rule 2015-3 (E.D. Mich.); reviewing all notices of payment changes, fees and expenses; comparing records with the trustee and debtor, and obtaining discovery; the proper procedure to file and prosecute responses disagreeing with notice of final cure payment; case law regarding remedies under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3002.1(i) for failure to comply with the rule’s requirements; and implementing steps to comply with the discharge order.

It is not uncommon for issues to arise in consumer cases after they are filed regarding pre-petition and post-petition tax liabilities. To make sure that a client understands the possible outcome of these issues and is not surprised when they crop up after the bankruptcy petition is filed, it is imperative that debtor’s counsel alert and counsel the debtor about these potential issues before the petition is filed. What tax clams are nondischargeable? What constitutes a tax return for purposes of § 523? What is a tax transcript, how can one get one from the IRS, and how does one interpret what it says? This session will also focus on understanding the implications of unfiled returns and substitute returns, especially the current split among the circuits regarding late-filed returns and their consequences for determining dischargeability, distinguishing the treatment for secured, priority and general unsecured claims in chapters 7 and 13, interest on secured or nondischargeable tax claims, and advising the client as to whether chapter 7 or 13 is the best course of action to deal with the debtor’s tax liabilities.

Determinations of values are central to virtually every aspect of a consumer bankruptcy case. How should debtors value assets on their schedules? What should they rely on for value, and what is their attorney’s role and responsibility? When are appraisals needed? What weight is given to BPOs and tax statements? What can creditors and trustees do to challenge the debtor’s values? What quotient of evidence do debtors, creditors and trustees need to litigate the value of a creditor’s collateral, a residence in a chapter 13 lien-strip, or a contested abandonment of property in a chapter 7 case, a contested redemption or a contested exemption?

This session will focus on the increasing number of senior citizens filing for bankruptcy. Why are so many elders now filing? What unique challenges do they present? Do their Social Security benefits and pension incomes become available to fund chapter 13 plans? How are reverse mortgages treated in chapters 7 and 13? What happens when an elderly debtor passes away during a chapter 7, 11 or 13 bankruptcy case? What if there is a surviving spouse who is also a joint debtor?