Courts typically apply the Brunner test to determine "undue hardship" when faced with a debtor with student loan debt, yet two recent decisions seem to have softened the harshness of § 523(a)(8).
Most Recent Flipbooks
Have We Hit Another Energy Downturn?
With U.S. oil production soaring to an all-time high and WTI crude plunging to its lowest closing price since mid-2017, it is time to consider whether another energy downturn has begun — or resumed.
When Consumers Are Too Broke for a Fresh Start
The fresh start is a powerful poverty-fighting tool. However, over the last decade, chapter 7’s fresh start has become steadily less accessible for low-income Americans.
When Songwriter Publishing Agreements Are Rejected in Bankruptcy
This article examines what happens to the writer’s share when a songwriter files for bankruptcy and rejects his/her publishing agreement.
World of Key Employee Compensation
An organization in chapter 11 should implement an alternative-compensation arrangement to retain key executive talent and incentivize them so that the company can successfully restructure.
Best Practices for Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waivers
Fee-waiver and installment-payment requests in individual chapter 7 cases are on the rise, putting increasing pressure on the budgets of the courts and chapter 7 trustees.
Consumer Bankruptcy Through the Eyes of an Athlete
Celebrities’ financial woes are often headline-grabbing sound bites, but the news stories are often slim on details as to how — if at all — the celebrity recovers from his/her financial troubles.
Health Care Bankruptcies from the Government's Perspective
Health care bankruptcies impose life-and-death consequences on the public at large, prompting the U.S. Trustee and state and federal entities to take a more active posture in order to fill this void.
Creative Discharge Solution to the Student Loan Crisis
Individuals with student loan debt face an uphill battle in bankruptcy, but a recent case shows that courts might be increasingly willing to relax the standard to discharge governmental student loans.
Addressing Low-Income Access to Bankruptcy
Paying for an attorney is simply not possible for many who need the benefits of the Bankruptcy Code. Fortunately, there are a number of resources that the bankruptcy courts can look to for new ideas.
Prepacks Now Account for Most Reorganizations
There’s not much that’s new or novel about prepackaged, pre-negotiated and pre-arranged bankruptcy filings in recent years, except their growing numbers — and that is a story in itself.
Excluding Veterans' Benefits from Current Monthly Income
While the Code excludes Social Security benefits from the definition of “current monthly income," it provides no comparable exclusions for veterans' benefits — presenting a hardship for some veterans.
Deceased Debtor's Estate Can Obtain Chapter 13 Discharge
What happens if a debtor dies during the life of his or her chapter 13 plan? This can be a perplexing dilemma for the attorney regarding his/her obligations to the client.
The Ethics of Coming Clean on Your Legal Mistakes
ABA's Formal Opinion 481 says that a lawyer must inform the client of material errors in the client's representation. But is it really necessary to report every single “oops”?
Problematic Consumer Debtor Attorneys' Fee Arrangements
Attorneys, law firms and third parties have recently sought to reimagine the terms and methods of payment for consumer debtor attorneys' fees, but some could run afoul of bankruptcy law and ethics.
USTP Working on Updating J. Alix Protocol
The U.S. Trustee Program has been reaching out to stakeholders to discuss how to update the J. Alix Protocol for CROs without disturbing its essential features.
The Changing Profile of Chapter 7 Debtors
It is not exactly news to the bankruptcy community that filings have fallen sharply in recent years. This article examines how the profiles of chapter 7 debtors have also changed during this period.
When Can an Attorney Advise Incurring More Debt?
A recent decision from the Eleventh Circuit illustrates that there is one type of advice to incur debt that is never permissible.
The Coming U.S. Farm Crisis
The agricultural sector is again struggling, and circumstances have begun to resemble those faced by farmers in the early 1980s.
Afghanistan Insolvency and Bankruptcy Law, 2018
While there had been provisions in Afghanistan law that dealt with insolvency, they were generally unknown even among lenders. Thus, Afghanistan needed a new bankruptcy law.
The Trustee and the Bitcoin