Consumer Bankruptcy

Hosted by the Consumer Bankruptcy Committee This webinar will discuss how new Bankruptcy Student Loan Management Programs are helping debtors solve their student loan issues. The webinar will cover the issues affecting debtors and their student loans as well as the solutions and tools the courts are implementing.

This panel will discuss recent developments in consumer cases involving family law, consumer protection and student loan issues.

This learn-in session will prepare attorneys, particularly business bankruptcy lawyers, for dealing with insolvent pro se consumer debtors or defendants.

Everyone likes to see lawyers get paid! This panel will address the differing approaches for attorney fees in chapter 13 cases across the country and discuss the allowance of debtor and creditor fees while examining and discussing the ABI Consumer Commission’s recommendation on fees in chapter 13 cases generally.

There have been significant challenges to the roles that counsel to debtors and creditors have played in chapter 13 cases since the enactment of BAPCPA, with little recognition that the success in completing a case through discharge is directly proportional to the efforts of the professionals involved in the proceeding, often in the face of contending with very difficult clients and circumstances. Many programs focus on the poor behaviors of counsel in an effort to provide examples or what “not to do.” This interactive ethics panel will require the panelists to take on role-reversals and encourage audience participation and debate about what can be done to support experienced professionals, and to avoid the continued diminution of the practice by having parties take on the challenges of the “other side.”

The most popular session each year, this annual favorite will cover all recent bankruptcy law decisions and current consumer bankruptcy law issues. This session is a must-attend for professionals to stay current on consumer bankruptcy law issues.

This interactive session will feature fact patterns and scenarios designed to engage the audience with real-world issues that illustrate ethical problems faced by bankruptcy professionals. The session will focus on identifying and resolving these issues before you find yourself in hot water. [Note: Please pardon the audio quality as there was a glitch in the recording process.]

Recovering estate property isn’t always as straightforward as directing the debtor to turn over property. This session will focus on situations where a nonbankrupt party (receiver, agent, court officer or assignee) has possession of property of the debtor/estate. How does the Bankruptcy Code define a “custodian," and what rights and responsibilities do custodians have? What rights do the debtor and trustee have? Can the custodian maintain possession of the property, and under what circumstances? Are custodians entitled to any fees/costs, statutory or otherwise, for maintaining possession of the property? Do creditors have to assist in getting the property back from the custodian? If the custodian gives up possession of the property, does it go to the debtor or the trustee?

Michigan residents have the option of choosing either the state or federal exemptions, but the choice sometimes requires careful consideration. What are the differences between the state and federal exemptions? How do they impact the debtor? How do you determine which set of exemptions is the best option for your client? After a selection has been made, can you change your mind? How late is too late to amend exemptions? What are the best practices for handling objections to exemptions? How do you value property in rising markets? How does Law v. Siegel and its progeny affect your ethical obligations in advising clients about exemptions?

Most individual chapter 7s proceed seamlessly from petition to discharge, but an effective practitioner must be able to identify and manage those difficult cases where obstacles to discharge abound. How do you identify chapter 7s with potential problems (debtors with businesses, searching public records for assets and transfers, requesting and reviewing documents in advance of filing, effective communication, etc.)? The session will also discuss how to manage chapter 7s that go sideways (staying on top of trustee document-production requests, 2004 exams, objections to discharge, and negotiating effectively with the trustee), how to get paid (supplemental 2016(b) statements, new retainers and retention agreements, what’s covered by the original retainer agreement), and when and how to get out (declining to file messy cases to avoid consequences for you (malpractice) or your client), as well as withdrawing for lack of post-petition payment for new work or client cooperation.