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Are 401(k) contributions allowed in a bankruptcy? What about retirement loans? We all know it’s wise to save for our future, but can you contribute to retirement plan like 401k or 403b if you’re filing bankruptcy? In the Ninth Circuit, it depends.
Continue reading “401(k) Retirement Loans & Contributions in Bankruptcy: Explained”
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Attorney Hale Andrew Antico was voted President of cdcbaa for a third term, serving in 2024. Mr. Antico, a President-Elect who is also Immediate Past President of the prestigious bankruptcy attorney association, has proudly served on its board of directors for well over ten years.
Continue reading “Hale Antico Voted CDCBAA President for Third Term”
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Every now and then, courts pass down a ruling on a subject that is so practical and a decision so favorable to consumer debtors that it’s as if the heavens opened, angels sang, and cherubim hand-delivered a gift to attorneys far and wide on the wings of a unicorn. The Ninth Circuit’s In re Welsh is such a case.
On this, the ten-year anniversary of In re Welsh, 711 F.3d 1120 (9th Cir, 2013), it seems relatively few attorneys know about this ruling, and how it can benefit debtors. Or at least, far fewer bankruptcy lawyers know about this than should. Yet we all should have it tattooed on the inside of our eyelids.
So, with the goal of getting the word out there, and celebrating a decade of relative anonymity, here’s a loud and triumphant commemoration as a monument to one of the greatest debtor cases in bankruptcy jurisprudence, and all of its varied folklore.
Continue reading “Chapter 13, Social Security, & Luxury Debt: A Case you Must Know”
The Department of Justice just announced that the first drop in median income for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in a while is happening on November 1, but the negative impact will be significant only for 1-person households in California.
Continue reading “Chapter 7 Median Income Drops November 1, Impacting Means Test”
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In bankruptcy, do inheritances go to the debts, or can the debtor keep them? Does timing matter? What about Chapter 7 vs 13? What happens when someone in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy receives an inheritance after confirmation?
It all depends on the chapter, and when the debtor got the interest. Not the money interest, but the property interest.
Let’s break it down.
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How often can you file bankruptcy? How many years do you have to wait between filing bankruptcy cases? Is there a limit? It’s not straightforward, and it depends on a couple of factors. Here we take a look at how often you can file bankruptcy, and if you have to wait before filing again.
And what makes this different from all the other “how often can you file bankruptcy” websites is that we’ll include cites to the Bankruptcy Code so you can go check them out for yourself.
Let’s get started.
Continue reading “Definitive Guide on How Often You Can Do Bankruptcy & Years to Wait”
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The maximum California homestead exemption now protects over $600,000 of home equity. However, there are conditions for a debtor to protect this amount in a bankruptcy. One of these is that the homeowner must have acquired the interest over 1,215 days ago. Does a refinance or transfer to a will, trust, or LLC restart this crucial timer? Let’s take a look.
Continue reading “Can a Home Transfer to a Trust in 1215 days Blow the Homestead?”
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Unvested stock options aren’t very common, but if someone gets compensated with contingent stocks, they can be worth a lot of money. Keeping the unvested stock options in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, then, becomes critical.
The first place to start is determining whether stocks or stock options are property of the estate. Looking at 11 USC 541(a)(1), we see that “Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c)(2) of this section, all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case.”
Continue reading “Keeping Stock Options in Bankruptcy Depends on This Key Factor”
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It’s not uncommon for a debtor in Chapter 13 bankruptcy to need to convert to Chapter 7 if debtor has a job loss or health problems. In a rising real estate market, homes can appreciate between confirmation and conversion. To whom does the appreciation in equity belong? This is where debtors and Chapter 7 trustees fight fiercely over the home and its new equity.
Continue reading “9th Cir: Here’s who gets Asset Appreciation in Converted Bankruptcy”
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In Pancic v Lokan (In re Lokan), BAP No. OR-22-1249-CLB, Bk. No. 6:20-bk-62593-TMR (9th Cir. BAP 6/14/2023)(unpublished opinion), the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit (“BAP”) held that the chapter 13 debtors converted their case to Chapter 7 in good faith and therefore a post-petition inheritance was not property of the chapter 7 estate.
Stephen and Brenda Lokan filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Oregon on November 23, 2020 with unsecured claims of approximately $100,000. Their plan was confirmed with plan payments of $150 per month giving unsecured creditors about 10% of their claims.