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Supreme Court Issues Important Ruling About Chapter 13

By Jonathan on July 5, 2010

On June 7, 2010, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in the case of Hamilton, Chapter 13 Trustee v. Lanning. The Supreme Court rarely hears argument in consumer bankruptcy cases so the Lanning decision is big news to consumer bankruptcy lawyers.

The issue in Lanning is one that has troubled bankruptcy lawyers since 2005, when the “means test” was added to the Bankruptcy Code. The means test functions as a test – do you have the “means” or disposable income to fund a Chapter 13 repayment plan? If the means test shows that you do not have sufficient disposable income to make a Chapter 13 work, then you qualify for Chapter 7.

As one of the assistant United States trustees once told me – the purpose of the means test is to disqualify as many people as possible from Chapter 7, and to force them into Chapter 13.

In practice, the means test does not work very well in predicting who can make a Chapter 13 work. One of the biggest complaints has to do with the mechanical nature of means testing. To run a means test, I have to gather pay stubs from the past 6 months. I then create a monthly average, which represents available income. Next I prepare a means test budget, but I do not use actual expense amounts. Instead, the means test tells me how much my clients are allowed to spend for food, medicine, utilities, etc. And where do these budget numbers come from? Means test numbers are based on IRS budgets used in delinquent tax repayment plans. In other words, the means test budget allocations are not especially generous. [Read more…] about Supreme Court Issues Important Ruling About Chapter 13

Does Your Landlord have any Obligations to Mitigate Damages if You Breach Your Lease?

By Jonathan on June 30, 2010

Not surprisingly, I get calls from small business owners who are contemplating personal bankruptcy when their businesses fail. There are many issues that arise in these types of cases but I would like to focus on one problem that, more than any other, can force the business owner into bankruptcy.

Generally when the owner of a small business leases retail space, the landlord will demand a personal guarantee. This means, of course, that in the event of a default, the business (which may be a corporation or LLC) faces liability and the business owner personally faces liability.

Given this reality, every small business owner should seek counsel to discussion asset protection options before starting his business, but that is a topic for another day.

If the business fails you might be surprised to learn that the landlord does not necessarily have to take any steps to “mitigate damages” by releasing the retail space. Instead, the landlord can demand payment for the full value of the lease from the business owner personally. If the business owner has a house with $100,000 of equity, that equity is therefore at risk, and given that Georgia’s bankruptcy exemption statute is stingy ($10,000 for an individual or $20,000 for a married couple filing jointly), bankruptcy may not offer much protection. [Read more…] about Does Your Landlord have any Obligations to Mitigate Damages if You Breach Your Lease?

The Only Thing Certain is Change

By Jonathan on June 19, 2010

No one starts his or her adult life expecting to file for bankruptcy. Yet every week, I meet with men and women in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and older who have become insolvent and need relief under the United States Bankruptcy Code. I often hear the lament “I never in a million years thought I’d be sitting in a bankruptcy lawyer’s office.” I usually respond by reassuring my clients that bankruptcy is a legitimate and legal financial tool that can offer hardworking families a kind of “do over” when unexpected circumstances finances to go south.

If this sounds familiar to you and you are struggling with the idea of finding anything positive from your bankruptcy experience, I would encourage you to take a few minutes to think about how and why you ended up in a bankruptcy lawyer’s office. I would also encourage you to consider what you can do differently in the future to make your bankruptcy a one time event.

I also think it is important to recognize that you are by no means alone in facing unsettled financial times. You may have seen lists containing the names of famous historical figures who filed bankruptcy (like Walt Disney, Larry King, even Wolfgang Mozart). Now think about the tremendous change that we are all experiencing now. I recently ran across a blog called 24/7 Wall Street that issues a yearly list of companies or brands it expects to disappear in the next year. This year’s list includes:

Readers Digest magazine
Blockbuster Video Stores
T-Mobile cell phone carrier
Merrill Lynch stockbrokers
Radio Shack
Zales Jewelers
Kia Motors

Now, I fully expect some of these brands to survive, but I am also certain that one or more may go away. [Read more…] about The Only Thing Certain is Change

Failure to Disclose Assets Lands Chapter 7 Debtor in Prison

By Jonathan on June 6, 2010

Because the bankruptcy system operates efficiently and quickly and it serves hundreds of people every day, I sense that many bankruptcy debtors forget that everything they submit to the bankruptcy court is done so under penalty of perjury. I recently ran across an article from a Texas newspaper about a Chapter 7 debtor who ended up in federal prison, convicted of bankruptcy fraud, because he failed to disclose an $84,000 insurance payment, proceeds from the sale of a vehicle and several bank accounts. This particular debtor used Chapter 7 to discharge over $1 million in liabilities.

I bring this case to your attention for several reasons. First, you should recognize that Chapter 7 trustees are very conscious of the likelihood that a certain percentage of debtors will fail to disclose assets. While it may seem that your Chapter 7 trustee is not paying much attention to any particular case, I suspect that trustee training programs provide trustees with profiles of the types of debtors likely to omit important information as well as resources to search for evidence of hidden assets.

In the Texas debtor’s case I wonder how he thought that a vehicle sale would be missed by the trustee, given that vehicle liens are public record, as are vehicle registrations.

These days almost any sale of real estate or motor vehicles will generate a paper trail of tax forms, insurance records and title documents. Further I have personally seen situations where an unhappy ex-wife or a former friend will draft a “poison pen” letter to the trustee will allegations about improper activities by a bankruptcy debtor. [Read more…] about Failure to Disclose Assets Lands Chapter 7 Debtor in Prison

Federal Mortgage Assistance Programs Modified to Include Bankruptcy Debtors

By Jonathan on May 31, 2010

Every week I receive several phone calls from homeowners who want to take advantage of the federal HAMP (Home Affordable Mortgage Program) but do not know where to start. Often these callers are behind two or three months and are receiving foreclosure notices, but they really do not want to file Chapter 13 before exhausting all non-bankruptcy alternatives.

These homeowners may have received foreclosure notices that suggest that the mortgage lender intends to negotiate or modify their mortgage. Georgia law now provides that all foreclosure notices must include a “negotiation provision.” O.C.G.A. Section 44-14-162.2 provides:

Notice of the initiation of proceedings to exercise a power of sale in a mortgage, security deed, or other lien contract shall be given to the debtor by the secured creditor no later than 30 days before the date of the proposed foreclosure. Such notice shall be in writing, shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the individual or entity who shall have full authority to negotiate, amend, and modify all terms of the mortgage with the debtor, and shall be sent by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, to the property address or to such other address as the debtor may designate by written notice to the secured creditor.

However, in real life, very few of these homeowners have had much success in reaching a deal with their lenders.

What about the highly touted HAMP program? A quick search on the Internet reveals dozens of articles suggesting that, to date, HAMP is not working.

Now comes word that the federal government has modified HAMP to include homeowners in bankruptcy with new guidelines effective on June 1. Supplemental directive 10-02 specifically addresses the applicability of HAMP to homeowners in bankruptcy. [Read more…] about Federal Mortgage Assistance Programs Modified to Include Bankruptcy Debtors