Topeka's Only Consumer Bankruptcy Law Specialists Now Helping Borrowers with Federal Student Loans
APPLICABLE COMMITMENT PERIOD IS FIXED AS DATE OF FILING
In re Moore, Case No. 06-20031
April 2007, Judge Berger
Debtors’ circumstances changed post petition pre confirmation. Although this does not change the ACP, it can change the amount to be paid to creditors. The ACP is locked in as of the date of filing. The Court noted that 1325(b)(1) only comes into play if the trustee objects, and the trustee has the discretion to object or not.
Digest by:Â Jan Hamilton, Trustee
In our never ending quest to stay current on developments in bankruptcy law, Mark Neis and Jill Michaux attended an all-day seminar in Kansas City on a new court rule for paying delinquent mortgages through a chapter 13 bankruptcy plan Friday.
Nationally recognized speakers were O. Max Gardner III of Shelby, NC; Debra L. Miller, Chapter 13 Northern District of Indiana; and Lance E. Olsen, managing partner of Routh Crabtree Olsen, PS, of Bellevue, WA.
Renown bankruptcy attorney Gardner is an expert predatory home mortgage servicing and a trainer teaching an army of lawyers to fight mortgage abuses at the Max Gardner Bankruptcy Boot Camps. He has been recognized as a Champion of Consumer Rights by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. [Read more…]
GAP insurance, service contracts, administrative fees and the traded-in car payoff are not part of a car lender’s purchase-money secured claim in chapter 13 bankruptcy and can be crammed-down if the car is worth less than the loan balance, Judge Janice Miller Karlin ruled this week in In Re Miller, Case No. 08-40935, (Bankr. D.Kan. December 2, 2008).
Judge Karlin suggested the ruling may be different for service contracts in a future case if the creditor convinces her the contract enhances the value of the vehicle. Creditors have the burden of proof to establish their purchase money security interest (PMSI) claim, she said.
Non-PMSI charges are still part of the creditor’s secured claim and must be paid in chapter 13 bankruptcy up to the value of the car. A debtor must pay the entire PMSI to retain a car even if the amount is greater than the car’s value if the loan was incurred within 910 days of bankruptcy. [Read more…]
A new procedure for issuing chapter 13 bankruptcy discharges and administratively closing the cases is being considered in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas. Here is a summary of the procedure from the minutes of the September 17, 2008, Bench and Bar Committee:
Considerchapter13.com is a new web site launched by the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education. The site contains information for consumers and bankruptcy attorneys by the Chapter 13 trustees who belong to the NACTT.
As always with any information on the internet, you should ask questions and discuss specific issues with your own bankruptcy attorney. Chapter 13 bankruptcy practice varies widely from trustee to trustee and judge to judge around the country.
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.
The bankruptcy judges in Kansas have approved new language for all chapter 13 confirmation orders that will put an end to the abusive practice of secretly adding fees to a debtor’s mortgage loan balance.
No real estate creditor shall ever assess, charge or collect, from either the debtor or the real estate collateral, any assessments, fees, costs, expenses or any other monetary amounts, exclusive of principal, interest, taxes and insurance, that arose from the date of the filing of the bankruptcy petition to the entry of the Order of Discharge except as may be allowed by court order or an allowed proof of claim.
