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Understanding the Bankruptcy Discharge

One of the biggest advantages of filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the bankruptcy discharge of certain debts that comes along with successful completion of the proceedings.  A Bankruptcy Discharge Is… A bankruptcy discharge is a permanent court order prohibiting creditors of the bankruptcy debtor from taking any action to collect discharged debts. This includes legal action as well as direct communications with the debtor (text messages, phone calls, emails, letters, etc.). I[...]

Enforcing the Automatic Stay

The decision to declare bankruptcy is not an easy one and many find themselves feeling overwhelmed or stressed by the decision or the process.  In most cases, the stress is two-fold: financial stress and emotional stress.  The emotional stress is often caused by, or at least exacerbated by the near constant reminder of debt from creditor calls and letters. The Bankruptcy Code has within it a provision that often helps alleviate some of this stress once bankruptcy is declared: the automatic sta[...]

"Surrender" Under Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy and foreclosure are in some ways very different.  The former involves primarily federal law, seeks to assist the debtor, and involves all of a debtors assets and liabilities.  Foreclosure in contrast involves primarily state law, seeks to assist the creditor in securing the rights to the collateral property, and involves only the debtors home.  Despite these differences, the two areas of law overlap at points, in part because many debtors filing for bankruptcy have property that i[...]

Bankruptcy Fraud and Reform

Bankruptcy Reforms Criticized by Experts During a panel but on by the American Bankruptcy Institute, the 2005 overhaul of bankruptcy laws was sharply criticized by one of the panelists, an attorney that represents debtors in bankruptcy.  The 2005 overhaul was designed to help decrease abuse of the system by debtors and increase the relief unsecured creditors obtained.  The critique was that after ten years, the laws actually seem to have hurt consumers through the increased cost in filing for [...]

"Estate" Defined in Bankruptcy Action

Former business partners, multi-million dollar lawsuit settlements, and offshore accounts sounds like a recipe for a complex bankruptcy action, right?  All were involved in the In Re Daniel W. Allen, Sr. bankruptcy action.  Yet, in the words of the deciding judge, the case’s “ultimate resolution involve[d] nothing more exotic than interpretation of the Bankruptcy Code.”  The underpinnings of the case began in 1989 when Daniel Allen, Sr. and Gary Carpenter formed a company, ATN, that res[...]

Executory Contracts in Business Bankruptcy

Business Bankruptcy Business bankruptcy, typically filed under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, present a host of unique issues.   One of those issues is what happens to executory contracts.  What is an executory contract? Even though it has a large statutory section dedicated to them, the Bankruptcy Code does not explicitly define what an executory contract is.  However, courts routinely define such contracts in the same way.  Essentially, an executory contract is one where both parties [...]

Social Media Property Rights in Bankruptcy

Modern technology, particularly the internet and smartphones, has brought with it many new types of property, property that is largely intangible.  Intangible property does not have a physical existence and cannot be touched or moved like a car, painting, or other type of tangible property.  Much of the law has evolved to deal with tangible property so courts are still adapting to how to deal with intangible property in all areas of the law. Earlier this month, one bankruptcy court began to ta[...]