A Statement of Intention is required to be filed in Chapter 7 cases. It is not required in Chapter 13 cases. The Statement of Intention is a form completed by the debtor that advises the court, the Trustee, and your creditors what you intend to do with your secured collateral such as your [...]

In a consumer bankruptcy, the financial analysis contained on the means test form (Form B22A in chapter 7, Form B22C in chapter 13) can mean the difference between success and failure.  In a close case, it may be necessary to take every possible deduction, to avoid having the means test show that the debtor has [...]

Absolutely NO!!!! I recently had a client ask me if he could come in and sign blank forms as he didn’t have the time to come in to review his schedules before I filed them with the court. I told him in no uncertain terms that I would not allow him to sign [...]

Sometimes a person needs to file bankruptcy right away to stop a foreclosure, repossession, eviction, execution sale, tax levy, or utility shut-off. The Bankruptcy Rules allow the debtor to initiate a bankruptcy case by filing only the three page petition. A list of creditors (Schedules D,E, and F) should also be filed - even [...]

Many creditors have been improperly publishing confidential information about debtors in proof of claims in response to chapter 13 cases over the years.  Recently, many debtors’ attorneys have been moving the Bankruptcy Court to restrict this information.  Now, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California has taken this one step further!
If you liked [...]

Recently, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ruled that ride-through no longer existed in light of the recent changes to the Bankruptcy Code under BAPCPA. Nevertheless, they entirely ignored my 11 USC 365(e) argument and it’s presently before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code added 28 U.S.C. Section 1930(f)(1) which provides for the waiver of Chapter 7 filing fees. This provision is implemented through Bankruptcy Rule 1006(c). However, a debtor’s application requesting a fee waiver must be filed along with the voluntary bankruptcy petition. The debtor’s income must [...]

A Kansas debtor can NEVER discharge debts to two objecting creditors, according to a recent decision by Judge Dale L. Somers in In Re Lina Buchanan Guebert, Case No. 07-41165, D.Kan. Bankr. April 2008.
The harsh order was the result of a long history of at least 12 bankruptcy cases in 12 years by Guebert. [...]

A recent bench decision by Maryland Bankruptcy Court Judge Thomas J. Catliota was an important ruling regarding the real party in interest requirement of FRBP 7017.
Americredit Financial Services, Inc., an auto loan servicer, filed a MLS in its own name. Its name appears on the car title as the sole lienholder, it represented that it [...]

Houses and other property can be sold while someone is in bankruptcy, but there are specific rules that must be followed when you do it. As Brett Weiss said in his article Can I Sell My House While I’m In Bankruptcy?, you must get court approval before property is sold. Until [...]