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The Bankruptcy Lawyers Blog

From attorney Kevin Chern, covering the Bankruptcy Code.

Post Frequency: 1.2/day

Last Entry: June 09, 2009 at 13:45:18

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to BAPCPA

Posted on June 09, 2009
Challenges to the application of certain provisions of the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act began the very day the law took effect. One of the first to bring suit to have the law declared unconstitutional was the...

Make Your Voice Heard on Mortgage Modification

Posted on March 12, 2009
Last week, the mortgage modification provision passed the U.S. House of Representatives--but it may not come to a Senate vote. The banking industry is making its voice heard loud and clear (courtesy of the same folks who brought us BAPCPA),...

House May Vote on Mortgage Modification Bill This Week

Posted on March 04, 2009

The Forgotten Creditor

Posted on January 27, 2009
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Bankruptcy and the Tax Refund

Posted on January 23, 2009
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Bankruptcy Appeals Courts and Electronic Filing

Posted on January 13, 2009
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NY Federal Reserve Links Foreclosure Crisis to Bankruptcy Reform

Posted on January 12, 2009
It's a hollow victory to be told that you were right after the damage is done, so we can take small pleasure in the fact that the New York Federal Reserve has taken note that the 2005 bankruptcy reform might...

DePaul Law School and Commercial Law League of America Annual Symposium

Posted on January 08, 2009
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Handling a Creditor Purchase Money Security Interest

Posted on January 07, 2009
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Completing the Creditor Schedule

Posted on January 05, 2009
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The Bankruptcy Discharge and Mortgage Billing Statements

Posted on December 30, 2008
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The Bank Account Dilemma

Posted on December 26, 2008
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Department of Justice Holds Comment Period for Proposed Rule on Approval of Financial Education Providers

Posted on December 17, 2008
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Mandatory Bankruptcy Disclosures

Posted on December 12, 2008
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Senator Dick Durbin to Hold Press Conference

Posted on December 08, 2008
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Documents Required for the Debtor Audit

Posted on December 05, 2008
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Helping Your Client Survive a Debtor Audit

Posted on December 03, 2008
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The Credit Counseling Course and Filing Bankruptcy

Posted on November 25, 2008
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Guiding Your Client Through Bankruptcy Exemption Planning

Posted on November 21, 2008
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Handling Ancillary and Cross Border Cases in Bankruptcy Court

Posted on November 17, 2008
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New Foreclosure Filing Procedures in Florida's 12th Circuit

Posted on November 13, 2008
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Noticing News

Posted on November 10, 2008
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Bankruptcy Reform and President-Elect Barack Obama

Posted on November 05, 2008
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Taking the Direct Approach - BAPCPA Offers Fast Track to Circuit Court Appeals

Posted on November 04, 2008
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What's Your Preference? Exploring the Split Debate Over Debtor Credit Card Payments

Posted on October 31, 2008
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The Science Behind Withdrawal of the Reference

Posted on October 28, 2008
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Keeping it Clean - The Ethical Side of Bankruptcy Law

Posted on October 24, 2008
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The Abstention Factor in Bankruptcy Proceedings

Posted on October 22, 2008
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Suviving the Economic Roller Coaster

Posted on October 20, 2008
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Navigating Your Client Through the Bankruptcy Maze

Posted on October 16, 2008
When a potential client steps into your office, and says that he or she wants to file for bankruptcy, your knowledge and experience as a bankruptcy attorney takes center stage. The person that has come to you for help is...

Uniform Forms are the Rule for Bankruptcy Trustees

Posted on October 15, 2008
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House and Senate Approves National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act

Posted on October 10, 2008
National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 Awaits Presidential Signature to Become Law

Chapter 7 Median Income Comparison Updates

Posted on September 16, 2008
A heads up to all bankruptcy lawyers when filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases on or after October 1, 2008: updates have been made to the median family income by family size data for the first part of the means test....

Study Examines Potential BAPCPA Constitutional Issues

Posted on July 14, 2008
An interesting study by Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California's Irvine Law School examines some constitutional issues that may be potentially posed when examining BAPCPA, every bankruptcy lawyer's favorite law (cue sarcasm).

The Average American Lawyer Makes $113,600 - But the Spectrum is Broad

Posted on April 17, 2008
The Chicago Tribune ran an interesting article about attorney salaries last week. Of course, the general public has a vision of attorneys as lining the walls with money--and maybe once upon a time many of us did, too. In the...

Student Loan Difficulties in Midst of the Credit Crunch

Posted on April 08, 2008
It’s the time of year when many high school seniors are deciding which college they will be attending in the fall. In 2008, this decision-making has been marked by growing concerns about student loan availability during these troubled times for the U...

Eight Ways to Avoid Business Debt and Do a Better Job of Providing for Your Employees

Posted on March 28, 2008
Consumer bankruptcies are obviously a major focus of this blog. As bankruptcy lawyers, we have an interest in helping consumers attain a fresh financial start from debt by showing them how filing bankruptcy may be able to help them responsibly...

Donald Trump Knows How to Save Your Home...or Not

Posted on March 05, 2008
Donald Trump has done pretty well for himself financially, and that might equip him to give advice to those aspiring to become millionaires, but it appears that he's a little out of touch when it comes to issues like everyday people facing mortgage foreclosure.

Important Bankruptcy Median Income Data Update

Posted on February 01, 2008
Please note that bankruptcy cases filed on or after February 1, 2008 (today) will be subject to the Census Bureau’s updated median family income data and the Administrative Expense Multipliers. You can check out the updated figures at the U.S.....

Judiciary Committee Passes Bankruptcy Bill

Posted on December 12, 2007
Many commentators have suggested that President Bush's mortgage plan was intended to sandbag the effort to make home mortgages subject to modification in bankruptcy. Naturally, mortgage lenders and investors would much prefer a plan that left the decisions in their...

Finally - a Creditor's Organization that Tells the Truth!

Posted on November 15, 2007
After ten years of disingenuous representations by the credit industry as it lobbied for bankruptcy reform and the recent protestations of innocence over the BusinessWeek article revealing that many major creditors are selling debts that have already been discharged in...

Visit Start Fresh Today at NACBA!

Posted on October 25, 2007
If you're in Las Vegas for the annual NACBA conference, stop by and visit the Start Fresh Today booth. And, if you're not familiar with Start Fresh Today's products, sign up for a free debtor education course demo. You can...

Bankruptcy Code Revision to Fight Foreclosure in the Works?

Posted on August 28, 2007
Word on the street (and in the New York Times) is that Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) will soon propose legislation to amend the Bankruptcy Code in order to better protect American homeowners facing foreclosure. We don't yet know much about...

Credit Industry Implicitly Endorsing "Adverse Events" Model of Bankruptcy?

Posted on August 20, 2007
Katherine Porter's recent longitudinal post-bankruptcy study revealed something that may be hard for the credit industry to explain--something we've all known though anecdotal evidence for a long time, but which can no longer be denied: credit card companies are very,...

Minimum Wage Increase Takes Effect Today

Posted on July 24, 2007
Today, the federal minimum wage increases to $5.85/hour. The increase comes after nearly ten years during which the minimum wage remained fixed at $5.15/hour, and includes two automatic increases on July 24, 2008 and July 24, 2009. Two years from...

Sliced, Diced and Flipped Mortgages May be a Blessing in Disguise for Consumers

Posted on June 04, 2007
The prevalence of flipping mortgage loans and chopping them up into securitized pools is providing an unexpected benefit for many homeowners facing foreclosure proceedings. As April Charney and other attorneys across the country have discovered, many mortgage lenders and purchasers,...

NACBA Testimony Prompts U.S. Trustees to Change Audit Procedure

Posted on May 21, 2007
The documentation required for a consumer bankruptcy petitioner during an audit has created problems for clients and consumer bankruptcy attorneys since the process was instituted. The standard document request letter required detailed records dating back six months--records that few debtors...

Thanks to All Who Attended Start Fresh Today's Fundraiser at NACBA

Posted on April 28, 2007
With your help, we raised $3,000 for the Philadelphia County Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project. Thanks to everyone who attended and donated to the cause. Photographs of the fundraising event and the trade show itself are available on Start Fresh Today...

Commercial Law League of America's BAPCPA Survey

Posted on April 24, 2007
Although October 17, 2005 is the day that lives on in infamy in all of our minds, it was two years ago this month that BAPCPA was actually enacted. The Commercial Law League of America's Bankruptcy Section conducted a survey...

Start Fresh Today at NACBA

Posted on April 20, 2007
Visit us at the NACBA conference in Philadelphia this weekend to find out how Start Fresh Today's one-stop-shop can help save bankruptcy practitioners time and money, or just to enjoy the company of your colleagues and contribute to a good...

BAPCPA Provisions Declared Unconstitutional as Applied to Minnesota Attorneys

Posted on April 20, 2007
Yesterday, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota entered its final order in the Milavetz case, granting the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and declaring that: 1. Sections 526 (a) (4), 528 (a) (4) and 528 (b)...

2005-2006 Bankruptcy Filing Statistics Comparison Misleading at Best

Posted on April 17, 2007
At long last, the Administrative Office of the Courts yesterday released the fourth quarter and annual 2006 bankruptcy filing statistics; the headline on the Courts' press release reads, "Bankruptcy Filings Plunge in Calendar Year 2006". Of course, the numbers and...

Dollar Amount Changes Take Effect April 1

Posted on March 30, 2007
Automatic adjustments to dollar amounts across several sections of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will take effect on April 1, 2007, impacting Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 eligibility, maximum exemption values in certain categories, means test calculation, and more...

Supreme Court Holds No Absolute Right to Convert

Posted on March 29, 2007
by Bankruptcy Attorney Richard J. Waple at Bankruptcy HQOn February, 21, 2007, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that a debtor who files a chapter 7 bankruptcy in “bad-faith” does not have an absolute right to convert...

BRAD BOTES SEEKS RETURN TO NACBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Posted on March 27, 2007
Brad Botes, a successful consumer bankruptcy attorney from Birmingham, Alabama has announced his intent to return to his former position on the board of directors of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA). Originally elected to the NACBA Board...

Mortgage Foreclosure "Disaster" Calls for Extreme Measures

Posted on March 12, 2007
We saw an "open letter" this morning from Marie McDonnell, who has been documenting mortgage fraud since 1991. After sixteen years in the trenches, Marie has some interesting things to say about what's really going on in the mortgage industry...

NACBA Updating Fee Practice Survey Results - Please Respond!

Posted on March 06, 2007
With the annual convention less than two months away and a panel session on Attorney's Fees in the works, NACBA is updating its earlier survey results with regard to local fee practices. Please take a moment to complete the NACBA...

Former Bankruptcy Petitioners Not Qualified to be Credit Counselors?

Posted on March 01, 2007
A Texas Bankruptcy Judge is holding a hearing today to get input from the U.S. Trustee’s office on whether or not one of the nation’s largest credit counseling agencies remains qualified to provide pre-bankruptcy credit counseling briefings...

National Consumer Bankruptcy Project Back in the Field

Posted on February 22, 2007
The National Consumer Bankruptcy Project--the people who most recently brought us the hard data tying approximately 50% of consumer bankruptcy filings to medical problems--has people back in the field with an even more ambitious goal. For the first time, the...