Debtors should disclose all assets on the bankruptcy schedules, and failure to do so can result in the denial of discharge. If a debtor discovers or remembers an asset was not properly disclosed on the bankruptcy schedules, even if the asset is discovered years later, the debtor should amend the schedules to properly disclose the asset. 

A client may be judicially estopped from asserting a cause of action not disclosed on the bankruptcy schedules or otherwise mentioned in the disclosure statements. 

Lack of disclosure in a bankruptcy filing can negatively impact a debtor. Clients will often question why they need to disclose certain information or if it would be better to “hide” certain assets from the court.  

The U.S. Supreme Court held that inherited IRAs do not qualify for the section 522(b)(3)(C)  exemption.  

That opinion makes clear that a beneficiary faces a choice between (1) "rolling over" the IRA, thus making the IRA subject to the tax and bankruptcy rules for traditional and Roth IRAs, or (2) keeping the IRA as an inherited IRA subject to different tax and bankruptcy rules for inherited IRAs.

The primary purpose of filing bankruptcy is to award a fresh start to an honest but unfortunate debtor. Occasionally, a debtor may request the dismissal of their chapter 7 case if the debtor would be worse off if he stayed in the chapter 7 case than if the case were to be dismissed. However, the case cannot simply be dismissed because the debtor is unhappy with the outcome of the chapter 7 case, the debtor needs to have acted in good faith. 

Generally, Chapter 7 debtors are entitled to a discharge of their pre-petition debts. However, some debts are excepted from discharge. 11 U.S.C. 523(a). Of those debts that are excepted, some are excepted from discharge as a matter of law, e.g., 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5) (domestic support obligations) and Section 523(a)(7) ) (fine, penalty, or forfeiture payable to a governmental unit). 

Lack of disclosure in a bankruptcy filing can negatively impact a debtor. Clients will often question why they need to disclose certain information or if it would be better to “hide” certain assets from the court.  

Section 541(a)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that, at the commencement of a case, the bankruptcy estate is comprised of "all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property." 11 U.S.C. § 541(a)(1). 

Provided under 26 U.S.C. § 6334, certain property claimed as exempt on the bankruptcy schedules are exempt from IRS liens. The Bankruptcy Code does not require debtors to include the exempted amount in an IRS allowed secured claim. 

When filing bankruptcy, debtors may be tempted to transfer assets in an effort to protect the assets from the bankruptcy estate. However, § 548(a)(a)(A) encompasses transfers made by the debtor within two years of filing the bankruptcy, and such transfers would be fraud if transferred "with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any entity to which the debtor was or became, on or after the date that such transfer was made or such obligation incurred, indebted . . . ." 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1)(A).  

The property of the bankruptcy estate cannot be removed from the bankruptcy court’s exclusive jurisdiction except by proceedings in the bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy case filing vests exclusive jurisdiction over the debtor’s property in the bankruptcy court so that it may control the administration of the case. 

Not all annuity payments in a bankruptcy will be exempt. For the annuity payment to be exempt in a bankruptcy filing it must be the type described by Congress under exemption § 522(d)(10). 

Bankruptcy is designed to give an honest debtor a fresh start. The fresh start is accomplished through the discharge, but a discharge is not a right, but a privilege. While the denial of a discharge is an extreme penalty, inappropriate conduct by a debtor can justify the denial of the discharge. 

The student loan debt crisis in America has been a growing issue for years, but recently those suffering from student loan debt received a big win. President Biden announced a forgiveness of some student loan debt for eligible borrowers. Although, for many Americans the amount of the forgiven debt will be just a drop in the bucket in relation to the overall amount of their student loan debt. But what or who can help a struggling debtor with the remaining student loan debt? Can it be discharged in a bankruptcy? 

Property of the bankruptcy estate includes all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property at the time the case is filed. Section 541(b) of the bankruptcy code provides a list of exclusions from property of the bankruptcy estate, and 11 U.S.C. § 522 provides exemptions that apply to property of the bankruptcy estate. 

In the current way our society is structured, the rich are exemplified as the model American, no matter how they obtained their wealth: inheritance, lying, cheating, evading taxes and the poor are vilified regardless of how they got there: mental health issues, medical limitations, inadequate and unfair wages, and the poverty trap.