Legislation that would have allowed for bankruptcy court-supervised loan modifications in some limited circumstances, sometimes called lien stripping, was stripped from the Wall Street bailout bill in Congress this weekend after protests from the mortgage bankers. Â The Center for Responsible Lending had predicted that the proposed legislation would have resulted in 3,587 fewer Kansas homes lost in foreclosure and $96 million in home values and tax base saved. [Read more…]
Archives for September 2008
New Mortgage Payment Rule Clarified
Posted on September 28, 2008 Written by
New Standing Rule 08-01 for ongoing mortgage payments through the 13 trustee in Kansas applies to all chapter 13 banrkuptcy cases filed on or after October 1, 2008. Â Debtors in cases filed earlier will not be subjected to the new rule even if they subsequently become delinquent on their home mortgage payments.
The Hon. Janice Miller Karlin, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Kansas, Topeka Division, issued the following statement last week after polling all the Kansas bankruptcy judges: [Read more…]
New Address for KCK Chapter 13 Payments
Posted on September 24, 2008 Written by
Effective October 1, 2008, all chapter 13 payments to William H. Griffin Trustee must be mailed to PO Box 613106, Memphis TN 38101.
Payments to Griffin, the standing chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee for cases filed in Kansas City, Kansas, will no longer be accepted in person at Griffin’s office in Fairway, at meetings of creditors or at court hearings. All payments must be mailed to the Memphis lock box.
Griffin is not moving his office. He is changing banks to Suntrust Bank.
New Rule: Chapter 13 Mortgage Payments Through Trustee
Posted on September 20, 2008 Written by
The Kansas Bankruptcy Court adopted a new rule requiring chapter 13 debtors behind on mortgage debts when the bankruptcy case is filed to be paid through the trustee. The rule goes into effect for cases filed on or after October 1, 2008.
Proponents of the new rule say the chapter 13 trustee records will aid the court in protecting debtors from charges for inappropriate fees and from false allegations of nonpayments. Opponents of the new rule object to the chapter 13 fee (up to 10%) added to the to the mortgage payments, creating additional financial hardship for debtors.
Kansas City Software Firm Hired for Largest U.S. Bankruptcy
Posted on September 20, 2008 Written by
The Kansas City, Kansas, computer software company used by one Topeka chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee was chosen this week to manage claims for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the largest bankruptcy case in U.S. history.
Epiq Systems Inc., develops software to manage bankruptcy cases. It has experience with large chapter 11 bankruptcy cases including World Com and Enron and national class action cases.
Kansas Bankruptcy Court Unveils New, Improved Website
Posted on September 14, 2008 Written by
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas unveiled today a new and improved website at www.ksb.uscourts.gov. Improvements will continue to be made by court personnel for the near future including a RSS feed.
Topeka Debtors Allowed Means Test Deduction for Cars With No Liens
Posted on September 1, 2008 Written by
EDITOR UPDATE: This post is out of date. Judge Karlin reverted to her original ruling in In re Law after the Pearson decision was vacated. This issue is currently pending the the U.S. Court for the Tenth Circuit so we should have a binding ruling soon. December 13, 2009.
Topeka Bankruptcy Judge Janice Miller Karlin announced last week that she is reversing course and will follow the Pearson decision to allow debtors a means test deduction for ownership of a car without a debt against it.
Judge Karlin had earlier disallowed the car ownership deduction in In re Law, 2008 WL 1867971 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2008), following the decision by Kansas District Court Judge John W. Lungstrum in Wieland v. Thomas, 382 B.R. 793 (D. Kan. March 4, 2008), reversing Judge Robert D. Berger of Kansas City, KS, in In re Thomas, 2007 WL 2903201 (Bankr. D. Kan. Oct. 02, 2007). [Read more…]
