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		THE CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY LETTER

In This Issue:

January 31 2005

•	TAX DISCHARGE IN BOSTON!

•	From BankruptcyAcademy.com

•	FEATURED SITE #5: Economic Policy Institute - budget analysis

•	HEADS-UP ON RECENT CASES

•	REFORM LEGISLATION DELAYED

•	BANKRUPTCY HUMOR

TAX DISCHARGE IN BOSTON!

NEXT STOP FOR THE BANKRUPTCY ACADEMY

BOSTON, MA May 26-28

SECURE YOUR SEAT - ENROLL EARLY

DISCHARGING TAXES - THE POWER SEMINAR!

JOIN MORGAN KING & YOUR COLLEAGUES FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY ...

At the elegant Jurys Hotel in Boston

The 3-day seminar and workshop will be a thorough exploration of bankruptcy remedies for delinquent taxes and tax liens in consumer bankruptcy cases (chapter 7 and chapter 13), emphasizing practical handlng of tax discharge cases from A-to-Z.

TUITION

Single attorney $695
Double attorney registration $995
Paralegal or other office staff $395
Enrolled agent or CPA $550
Special rate for government or non-profit entity $495

For more information about the Tax Discharge program, or to enroll, click below, or on sailing ship at right, or call (925) 829-6460 west coast time.

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL IN THE TAX DISCHARGE SEMINAR

FEATURED SITE #5: Economic Policy Institute - budget analysis

Epinet.org

BASIC FAMILY BUDGET CALCULATOR

Need help justifying your client's expenditures for a Chapter 13 plan? For defending a "substantial abuse" motion under § 707(b)?

If you're looking for data to back you up with your local trustee about what is a feasible budget for a client in a particular metro-geographical area, visit the web site for the Economic Policy Institute, Epinet.org.

You simply plug in a few variables (number of parents, number of kids) and press the button. You receive an instant budget.

Here is a sample report for a two-parent family with 2 kids for San Jose, California.

MINIMUM BUDGET TO AVOID POVERTY

San Jose, California - 2 Parents/2 Children

Monthly housing $1,139
Monthly food $510
Monthly child care $786
Monthly transportation $240
Monthly health care $224
Monthly other necessities $511
Monthly taxes $551
Monthly total $3,960
Annual total $47,520

Percentage of all people in state living below family budget line * 33.1%
Number of all people in state living below family budget line * 2,007,000

This web site contains a wealth of other statistical information under the heading, Measuring Family Well-being, including information about trends in income, wages, taxes, and health spending for middle-class families.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THIS WEB SITE

REFORM LEGISLATION DELAYED

BK REFORM DELAYED A WEEK

The introduction of the bankruptcy reform legislation, which was expected to be introduced by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) last Wednesday, has been postponed. Senator Grassley's office still anticipates this bill will be introduced before the end of the week.

CLLA.org
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CONSUMER DEBT UP 12% OVER 2002

National and statewide results for the study can be found on the Experian National Score IndexSM Web site at www.nationalscoreindex.com. Overall, the study found:

U.S. consumers’ average debt is 12 percent higher compared to the same time last year.

U.S. consumers have an average debt of $11,224 compared to last year’s average debt of $10,024.

25 percent of U.S. consumers have debt that is above the national average and their average Experian PLUS Score is 695.

The average PLUS Score for consumers with debt below the national average is 671.

"It’s important for consumers to remember that having debt is not always a bad thing as long as they manage it well," said Ed Ojdana, president of Experian Consumer Direct. "They should also assess their finances on a regular basis by checking their accounts to be sure everything is in order before making future purchases."

More information about this study, plus credit data at the state and local level, can be found on the Experian National Score Index site at www.nationalscoreindex.com
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MANY NOT FINANCIALLY PREPARED FOR RETIREMENT

Nearly Half of U.S. Workers Financially Ill-Prepared for Retirement

AccountingWEB.com - January 24, 2005 - Nearly half (45 percent) of the U.S. workforce does not believe it will have enough money set aside for a comfortable retirement. This according to the latest national Hudson retirement survey, which also finds that three-fourths (74 percent) of U.S. workers plan to work at least part-time during their retirement years. Forty-one percent of workers plan to retire before they reach the age of 65.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE NEWS AND LAW UPDATES

From BankruptcyAcademy.com

NEED HELP DETERMINING IF TAXES ARE DISCHARGEABLE?

Morgan King offers consulting service (925) 829-6363 (Pactific time)

To be dischargeable in bankruptcy, income tax liabilities must satisfy certain rules under the Bankruptcy Code. We refer to these rules as “time rules.” The task of evaluating whether a particular tax liability has satisfied the time rules is a complex undertaking and requires knowledge or expertise which a consumer bankruptcy attorney may not have. Such attorneys are encouraged to seek outside expert assistance to assure competent advice and service to the debtor. Mr. King's research service via web site, Tax Justice.com, provides such expert assistance to the bankruptcy bar.

The service is a law research service for attorneys. Mr. King does not provide legal advice or legal services directly to taxpayers, debtors or potential debtors via the Internet. The purpose of this service is to assist attorneys in evaluating the extent to which an attorney's client's tax liabilities have satisfied the time rules, and other rules, for discharge in bankruptcy. Mr. King is not licensed to practice law in any state other than California.

You can arrange to consult with Morgan King on the phone. Length of the consultation is flexible. You may be required to fax documents or email the details of the problem ahead so Mr. King can review them. Consultation fee may be paid by phone with a credit card.

To set up a telephone consultation, call Mr. King's office at (925) 829-6363 between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. West coast time.

CLICK HERE FOR A TAX DISCHARGE OPINION

HEADS-UP ON RECENT CASES

PREPETITION FEES MAY QUALIFY AS ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

Services rendered pre-petition may be entitled to administrative status so long as the services provided a substantial contribution to the reorganization efforts. To qualify for such treatment the claimant must show more than a pre-petition agreement that fees would have administrative claim status. The claimant must prove that the prepetition activity directly benefited the post-petition reorganization efforts.

The Chapter 11 Debtor paid a professional entity prepetition fees to render financial consulting services. A creditors' committee filed an adversary complaint to recover the payments as preferential and/or fraudulent transfers. The recipient argue that its prepetiton services benefited the Debtor's reorganization efforts and therefore should be allowed as administrative expenses.

The court denied the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, noting that there was a genuine dispute as to the material fact, whether or not the Defendant's services rendered any actual benefit to the Debtor.

The court also found genuine dispute of material fact as to the circumstances alleged to be preferential or fraudulent transfer. i.e., whether or not the Debtor received reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the money paid.

In re CVEO Corp. (Bankr. DE 2005)

BANKRUPTCY CASE UPDATE

BANKRUPTCY HUMOR


MORE SCIENTISTS USING LAWYERS FOR EXPERIMENTS Scientific laboratories around the country report switching from rats to lawyers on which to conduct experiements. Here's why: 1. The scientists are less likely to become emotionally attached to lawyers; 2. There are more lawyers that rats; 3. There are some things event rats won't do.

PUBLISHED BY KING BANKRUPTCY MEDIA FOR BANKRUPTCY PROFESSIONALS 7080 Donlon Way Suite 222 Dublin California 94568 (925) 829-6460. Morgan D. King, Editor.
© King Bankruptcy Media 2004 CONTACT US AT editor@bankruptcymedia.com CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THIS E-LETTER - FREE!