Consumer Bankruptcy

Homeowners and their creditors continue to face variety of emerging challenges in bankruptcy cases. What rights do lien holders have when only one of the obligors files bankruptcy? What potential issues await all owners after only one receives a discharge? Can a debtor modify a mortgage loan without reaffirming the debt, and if not, what are the considerations for all parties? This panel of experienced debtor and creditor attorneys will explore the many obstacles that complicate the goal of preserving a debtor’s interest in real estate and maximizing the return for secured creditors, as well as potential options and considerations for those seeking the relief they need.

This year’s installment of the Boris Badenough ethics play centers primarily around Boris’s romantic problems, rather than his traditional financial woes. Boris’s latest wife, Sophia “Sting” Shire, an up-and-coming photo artist, has just filed for divorce and is seeking to void her prenuptial agreement with Boris so she can get the $100,000 per week in support she believes she is entitled to. Boris isn’t distressed about the loss of his sixth (or is it seventh?) wife, but the fact she wants money and half of his massive snowglobe collection enrages him. However, Boris has a plan to put Sting into an involuntary bankruptcy with two other creditors, have a trustee appointed (Boris does know how to dig up dirt!) and settle any claims that Sting may have with her trustee for a small amount of his hoard. Unfortunately for Boris, Sting and her counsel, Bill “Bo” Baggins, have a few tricks of their own up their sleeves, including the discovery of Boris’s deepest and perhaps most profitable secrets in Hidden Hoard LLC, a company Sting owns 1% of (through Boris’s attempt to make her a minority contractor). Will Baggins and Sting be able to discover the secret Hidden Hoard, or will Boris’s counsel, Tom “Bomber” Dill, prevail and save his client’s “preeciousss”?

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?

The panel will discuss the pitfalls that chapter 13 debtors encounter when dealing with claims that may or may not be dischargeable or have priority status.

Although many "experts" predicted that we would be out of the foreclosure crisis well before 2013, many are still dealing with the ramifications of the burst real estate bubble. This session will explore current issues regarding mortgage claims and real property issues in chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, including how the National Mortgage Settlement affects debtors, Bankruptcy Rules 3001 and 3002.1, and general chapter 13 confirmation and cramdown issues.

As if the Bankruptcy Code doesn’t give us enough to ponder, bankruptcy practitioners must consider the impact of the U.S. Tax Code on the decision-making process. This session will address the Internal Revenue Code “section 1398 short year” election and separate entity rules, discharge of tax claims, cancellation of debt (COD) income, and tax issues arising from mortgage modification, foreclosure, and transfer or abandonment of property.

There are many changes occurring in consumer bankruptcy law. Find out the latest developments in your neighborhood and around the country.

Individual chapter 11 cases pose a number of thorny legal and practical problems for the bankruptcy practitioner. While individual chapter 11 cases contain many elements of corporate chapter 11 and chapter 13 cases, they do not fit comfortably in either chapter. Following the enactment of BAPCPA, courts have struggled to strike the appropriate balance between the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code intended for corporations and those intended for human beings. The result is substantial uncertainty for debtors and creditors alike. This session will explore: Does the absolute priority rule apply to individual chapter 11 debtors? May creditors commence an involuntary chapter 11 case against an individual? May individual chapter 11 debtors pay their living expenses in the ordinary course of business, or is notice and a hearing required? What are the advantages and disadvantages for debtors and creditors in an individual chapter 11 case as compared to a corporate chapter 11 case or a chapter 13 case?