NO CLE - Representing Secured Creditors in Chapters 7 and 13

Even beginning creditors’ attorneys know that the automatic stay prevents them from enforcing their clients’ rights to their collateral. But what can they do in chapter 7 and 13 cases, and when should they do it? This session will focus on the basic legal issues facing secured creditors in these consumer cases and the development of effective and economical strategies for dealing with them. What are the legal standards to obtain relief from the automatic stay? What do the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the local bankruptcy rules require as attachments? What must the motion allege, and who has the burden of proof if an objection is made? Do these standards differ in chapters 7 and 13? When is the right time to bring a motion to lift a stay in a chapter 7 or 13 case? Should you seek to have a chapter 7 debtor reaffirm your debt? If a chapter 7 debtor doesn’t reaffirm but just keeps making the payments, what should you tell your client to do? How does § 365(p) work, and do you need to have the court involved? Loan modifications are common in chapter 13, but is there such a thing as a loan modification in a chapter 7? Can the court reopen a case to approve a post-discharge reaffirmation or loan modification in chapter 7? Can a chapter 13 debtor force your client to take property they don’t want by surrendering the property or vesting it in your client?