Practice Tips for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorneys in the Eastern District of Kentucky, by Beverly M. Burden, Trustee
The NACTT Academy is hosting a FREE webinar, “Protecting Your License: Ethical Use of Nonlawyer Staff for Client Intake,” on Thursday, June 15, 2017, at 2:00 EDT. Please join us for practical advice and ethical guidelines on using nonlawyer assistants in your practice, with particular emphasis on the client intake process.
Keep reading for registration information.
Significant changes in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure become effective on December 1, 2017. For example:
Secured creditors will be required to file claims by the bar date.
The bar date for most claims (secured and unsecured) will be 70 days after the petition date.
The plan will need to be served like a complaint in an adversary proceeding if the plan values collateral or avoids liens.
The chapter 13 plan will change.
Read on, and learn about the July 15 deadline for commenting on the proposed local chapter 13 plan and other local rules and forms.
Frequently, debtors who seek bankruptcy relief under chapter 13 have not yet filed some of their tax returns with the IRS or state taxing authority. Section 1308 of the Bankruptcy Code gives chapter 13 debtors an opportunity to get those returns filed so they can deal with their tax debts in the chapter 13 case, but there are deadlines to be met and consequences for failure to comply. Until all tax returns for the previous four years are filed, the plan cannot be confirmed, and if the returns are not timely filed, the debtor’s case could be dismissed. [More]
When debtors cannot comply with terms of a confirmed plan due to unexpected circumstances, the noncompliance cannot always be fixed by modifying the plan or seeking court approval after the fact. This post is about two cases that were dismissed for reasons you might find surprising (but shouldn’t).
This post briefly discusses the following topics: Amended Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure eff. 12/1/16; Motions to Incur Debt for Purchase of Vehicle; Motions to Compel Debtors to File Notices of Address Changes; and the 2017 Judge Joe Lee Bankruptcy Institute.
Are you adequately and accurately disclosing to your clients and to the court what your fee agreement is for representing debtors in chapter 13 cases in the EDKY? Many attorneys, I fear, are not.
I and my staff attorneys will no longer make representations to the court on behalf of an attorney who cannot or chooses not to appear at a hearing. No more courtesy announcements of continuances, settlements, agreements, withdrawals, or the like for absent attorneys. Read on for alternatives if you cannot appear at a hearing.
