In In re Price, 370 F.3d 362 (3d Cir. 2004) the court held that a non-defaulting bankruptcy debtor has the option to retain property while remaining current on payments, without needing to enter into a reaffirmation agreement, a so-called “pass through” option. Cases within the Third Circuit decided since the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (“BAPCPA”) have concluded that the passage of that statute did not affect the availability of the pass through option as recognized in Price. See, In re Baker, 390 B.R. 524 (Bankr. D. Del. 2008), In re Hart, 402 B.R. 78 (Bankr. D. Del. 2009). Thus, a Debtor is not required to enter into the Reaffirmation Agreement in order to keep the home so long as she makes the required payments.
A total of $600 or more in money or property which is paid to a creditor that is a relative or insider (certain business associates) within a year prior to filing is a preference. The Trustee may recover preferences and divide the money between all creditors. (In Chapter 13, the debtor may be able to prevent the Trustee from going after the relative by increasing the amount paid into the plan.) [11 USC §547(b)(4)(B), 11 USC §547(c)(8), 11 USC §101(31)]
Taxes based on income or gross receipts for which a return (if required) was due within 3 years prior to the filing of the petition are not discharged in Chapter 7. [11 USC §523(a)(1)(A)]
The date due includes any extensions, i.e., if the April 15 due date for income tax is extended to October 15 the later date will be used determining if the 3 year period has been passed. [11 USC §507(a)(8)(A)(i)]
The 3 year period may be extended by any time in a bankruptcy plus an additional 6 months. [11 USC §108(c), 26 USC 6503(h), IRC 6503(h)]
Penalties for taxes not discharged (above), tax penalties regarding a transaction within 3 years of filing, and government fines and forfeitures are not discharged. [11 USC §727(b)] [11 USC §523(a)(7)]
Debt incurred to pay taxes not discharged (above) are not discharged. [11 USC §727(b)] [11 USC §523(a)(14), (14A))]
A debtor may not file any bankruptcy if he or she filed a previous bankruptcy which was dismissed in the preceding 180 days either (1) on the court’s order because of your willful failure to obey orders of the court or to appear in court when required; or (2) at the debtor’s request after the filing of a request for relief from the automatic stay. [11 U.S.C. § 109(g)]
A debtor cannot receiving a discharge under Chapter 7 if he or she received a discharge in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy which was filed within 8 years before the present case is filed. 11 U.S.C. §727(a)(8)
A New York judge has wiped out $525,000 in mortgage debt for a couple, saying the bank misled him about the amount at stake and refused to work with the homeowners to modify the loan.
The judge from Suffolk County, New York, canceled the homeowners mortgage, interest and penalties after finding that the actions of the bank and its mortgage servicer were “harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive,” according to CNN. SEE THE VIDEO HERE: CNN VIDEO.
According to a recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, bankruptcy filings are up in the Pittsburgh area. Bankruptcy in Western Pennsylvania have increased 10 percent. Nationwide, bankruptcies have risen 27 percent during that same time frame — nearly three times as fast.
Most cases are filed where the individual has lived for more than the last three months prior to the date of filing. The relevant statute provides for filing in the district:
“in which the domicile, residence, principal place of business in the United States, or principal assets in the United States, of the person or entity that is the subject of the case have been located for the one hundred eighty days immediately preceding such commencement, or for a longer portion of such one-hundred-and-eighty-day period than … in any other district.”
Trustee Program has posted the adjusted U.S. Census Bureau figures on its website at:
http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/meanstesting.htm
The U.S. Trustee Program will apply this updated data to bankruptcy cases filed
on or after November 1, 2009. The Court’s website also has a “Means Testing” link to this information on the BAPCPA page at http://www.pawb.uscourts.gov/bapcpa.htm
In filing a consumer bankruptcy, the average monthly income of the debtor must me determined. The average monthly income received by the debtor is determined by averaging the last six calendar months of income before commencement of the bankruptcy case, including regular contributions to household expenses from nondebtors and income from the debtor’s spouse if the petition is a joint petition, but not including social security income and certain other payments made because the debtor is the victim of certain crimes. 11 U.S.C. § 101(10A).