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THE CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY LETTER
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In This Issue:
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MAR. 15, 2004
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BANKRUPTCY ACADEMY SCHEDULES LAS VEGAS & SAN FRANCISCO DATES
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HELD, DEBTOR CANNOT HIDE BEHIND ATTORNEY
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SENIORS BECOMING BANKRUPT GENERATION
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FEATURED BOOKS at Bankruptcybooks.com
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REPUBLICANS URGE REFORM BILL
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KING BANKRUPTCY ACADEMY SCHEDULES 3-DAY SEMINARS ON DISCHARGING TAXES - LAS VEGAS & SAN FRANCISCO
The first dates scheduled for the 5th annual Bankruptcy Academy program on discharging taxes in bankruptcy cases have been scheduled for LAS VEGAS, Nevada, on Sept. 8, 9 & 10, and at FISHERMAN'S WHARF, San Francisco, October 27, 28, 29, 2004.
Principal presenters will be; Morgan King, attorney and author of Discharging Taxes in Bankruptcy; Charles F. Rosen, former chief of the Los Angeles IRS office of Special Procedures (bankruptcy, insolvency); Eric M. Casper, formerly Senior Trial Attorney, Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice - Washington, D.C.; and Robert N. Kolb, formerly with the IRS and recently the prevailing attorney for the debtor/taxpayer in two important appellate cases.
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 hands-on handlng of tax discharge cases.
A third tax discharge program will be scheduled for San Antonio, Texas.
Academy courses on other aspects of consumer bankruptcy practice will be announced soon.
Early registration for the September program saves $100 off the regular enrollment fee of $695. All previous programs have qualified for CLE in all states for which CLE accreditation was requested. On request the Academy will assist in obtaining CLE accreditation for an enrollee's state.
For more information about the Tax Discharge program, or to enroll, click on red below. For more information on the Academy in general, click on the image at right or visit BankruptcyAcademy.com.
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NUMBER OF SENIOR CITIZENS FILING BANKRUPTCY TRIPLES
According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, the seniors who filed for bankruptcy protection last year had nearly $36,000 in credit card debt, compared to $18,000 for those filers between ages 40 and 49. And it is truly frightening to learn that not only has the number of Americans over age 55 who seek credit counseling grown substantially, but the number of those over age 75 seeking such help is growing even faster.
Instead of college students and yuppies, seniors are fast becoming the "credit card generation," spending more than 30 percent of their income on debt payments. And, unfortunately, by the time seniors seek counseling, it's often too late.
A new study shows that the average credit card debt of Americans 65 and older increased by 89% between 1992 and 2001. During the same period, the number of older adults filing for bankruptcy tripled.
SOURCES: Jan L. Warner & Jan Collins - Jewish World Review, and New York Daily News
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WORLDCOM - LARGEST FRAUD SCHEME IN U.S. HISTORY
Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebber's single-minded pursuit of growth and, in the end, his manic desperation to please Wall Street led him to mastermind, according to his federal criminal indictment last week, an accounting fraud estimated by some experts at $11 billion, the largest in U.S. history.
If you're keeping score at home, that's about $10,999,955,000 more in financial skulduggery than was involved in Martha Stewart's trial. (Stewart saved $45,000 by selling her ImClone shares when she did.)
SOURCE: Time Online Edition
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COLLEGE-EDUCATED UNEMPLOYED REMAINS HIGH
Nationally it's the same story. The number of people with college degrees who have been out of work for at least six months grew by 299 percent to 369,115 at the end of 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Economic Policy Institute.
College graduates make up 15.3 percent of the unemployed but they represent 19.1 percent of the long-term unemployed, according to the institute.
Challenger said part of the problem is the growing technological divide that has left many of the older workers with college degrees behind. They're finding it hard to get back in because many of their technical skills haven't kept up.
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle
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TRUSTEE SUES DEBTOR'S FORMER LAWYER
A lawsuit was filed against the former attorney of convicted rapist Andrew Luster and other defendants, claiming the Max Factor heir was coerced to jump bail last year so they could seize his assets.
In the suit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, bankruptcy trustee John W. Richardson claimed attorney Richard Sherman and several people he hired to work on the case convinced Luster he had to leave the country.
During several meetings at Sherman's office and in court, Luster was told to "flee to Mexico or otherwise he would end up a 'dead man' as a result of the criminal trial," the suit states.
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HELD, DEBTOR WHO ACTED ON ATTORNEY'S ADVICE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR FAILURE TO DISCLOSE
A debtor, with respect to information that such debtor would know that he or she should disclose in bankruptcy schedules and/or the Statement of Financial Affairs even absent advice from his or her counsel, cannot successfully defend against a § 727(a)(4)(A) objection predicated upon a failure to disclose such information — and, in particular, cannot successfully defend with respect to the deceptive intent element of such objection — by asserting that (a) he or she blindly relied on his or her counsel's prompting before he or she would so disclose such information, and (b) such counsel simply failed, for whatever reason, to so prompt him or her.
IN RE DOLATA, (W.D.Pa. 2004)
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HELD, CONTEMPT CLAIM MUST BE BROUGHT BY MOTION, NOT ADVERSARY ACTION
An adversary proceeding is not the proper vehicle to present a contempt claim, as civil contempt is a method of enforcing a court order, not an independent cause of action. The proper vehicle to enforce a court order is a motion in the original case.
When the estate is protected by a court order, only the trustee (not a creditor) may move to enforce the order unless a creditor proves that the trustee has unjustifiably failed to take such action.
In re Consolidated Industries Corp. (7th Cir. 2004)
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FORBEARANCE FRAUDULENTLY INDUCED
Section 523(a)(2) protects a creditor deceived into forbearing collection efforts.
In re Brzakala (Bankr. N. D. Ill. 2004)
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HELD, BK COURT HAS POWER TO ORDER PETITION PREPARERS TO COMPLY WITH STATE RULES
The bankruptcy court may validly order that bankruptcy petition preparers, all of whom are subject to § 110, must also comply with state certification requirements established to regulate the unauthorized practice of law.
In re Bankruptcy Petition Preparers (9th Cir. BAP 2004)
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HELD, Chapter 13 debtors have standing to exercise trustee avoiding powers for the benefit of the estate.
In re Cohen (9th Cir. BAP 2004)
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Congress in amending Code § 330, generally precluded bankruptcy courts from applying hindsight when considering a professional’s fee application at a point in time far removed from the actual performance of the services. Only in the limited circumstances outlined in Code § 328(a) may the bankruptcy court apply hindsight, and then only when the basis for applying that hindsight could not have been anticipated at the time of the professional’s appointment.
In re Bennett Funding Group, Inc. (Bankr. N.D, N.Y. 2004)
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