Michael B. Joseph, Esq.
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Up, Up and Away: Chapter 13 Plan Balloon Payments: Permissibility and Feasibility
“Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon We could float among the stars together, you and I For we can fly, we can fly Up, up, and away My beautiful, my beautiful balloon” (Song by the 5th Dimension-1967) Debtors’ counsel often struggle to formulate…
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Dawn of the Dead: Zombie Mortgages
It has been 17 years since the financial crisis of 2008. It is again time to look at “zombie mortgages.” With the passage of time, property values have, for the most part, increased. In some cases, there has been dramatic appreciation. This makes it attractive for junior lenders to seek to recover as much as…
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Furry Blurry Expenses: Pets and Bankruptcy
“Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished” (Dean Koontz in A Big Little Life: A Memoir of A Joyful Dog) Some time ago, while serving as Chapter 13 Trustee, I administered a case that involved household cats. During the Section 341 meeting a large monthly expense line…
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Treatment of Luxury Assets Under Chapter 13
Welcome to Trustee: “Is this expense necessary?”Debtor: “It brings me joy!”Trustee: Eyebrows raisedDebtor’s Attorney: Does it matter? It’s secured.“ It is once again time to reexamine debtors who elect to retain and pay for luxury items in Chapter 13. We look to the often-cited 9th Circuit case of Drummond v. Welsh 711 F3rd 1120 (9th Cir, 2013).…
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Home Equity Conversion Mortgages
Reversal of Forture In a national TV ad campaign, Tom Selleck’s deep resonating voice touts the benefits of a reverse mortgage. He appears as the trusted spokesman for the loan. The sales pitch peddles the ability of senior homeowners to easily tap their home equity and receive a monthly stream of payments. Selleck is one…
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Sibling Rivalry: The Power of 11 USC Section 363(h)
Imagine siblings Eli and Peyton Manning, Serena and Venus Williams or the Property Brothers-Drew and Jonathan Scott fighting over property division. It is hard to imagine these celebrities fighting, but for others, it does happen. It is conflict that involves more than sibling rivalry, beyond teasing, or competition. These conflicts are fraught with ugliness when…