All items from Bankruptcy Blog

Gifting Your “Retirement Account” to Another Person? Be Careful.

Heidi Heffron-Clark inherited her mother’s IRA worth approximately $300,000. Her mother’s account passed to Heidi after her mother’s death. The IRA remains sheltered from taxation until the money is withdrawn, [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 1 week 5 days ago

Seventh Circuit: More “Hope” For (or Despite) Seeking a Discharge of Student Loans?

For those truly down on their luck with student loans, a recent decision from the federal appeals court in Chicago offers some new guidance for discharging those loans in bankruptcy. [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 3 weeks 5 days ago

Stock Awarded to Ex-Spouse Not Subject to Other Ex-Spouse’s Bankruptcy Estate

What happens to the property of a spouse when the other spouse files bankruptcy in the midst of divorce proceedings? This is an incredibly complicated area for parties and practitioners [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 5 weeks 5 days ago

U.S. District Court Reverses Decision Invalidating Illinois Mortgages in Crane

Cases concerning the necessary requirements for Illinois mortgages have been a hot topic in Illinois courts this past year. The U.S. District Court has returned a decision in one of [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 8 weeks 5 days ago

When is the Failure to Respond in Litigation Excusable?

The chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee of Canopy Financial, Inc., a former health care transaction software company based in Chicago, is seeking to recover more than $90 million of funds that [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 10 weeks 5 days ago

Former Corporate Shareholder, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Corporation Not Personally Liable for Payment of Unpaid Wages Under the Illinois Wage Act

The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (Wage Act or Act) provides employees a cause of action to collect payment of earned wages or compensation due to them. [FN1] Wages [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 12 weeks 5 days ago

Seventh Circuit: Checking Account is Personal Property!

In a short opinion, the Seventh Circuit found the issue clear that a bank account indeed constitutes personal property under Illinois law. In Porayko, the Seventh Circuit considered the issue [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 14 weeks 5 days ago

What Constitutes a Mortgage? – Part 2

A few months ago, I wrote about a couple of cases in Illinois which successfully challenged the sufficiency of mortgages which failed to include the interest rate and maturity date, [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 16 weeks 5 days ago

A Taxing Problem for Chapter 12 Debtors

The Fergusons are farmers with a taxing problem. The sale of much of their farm machinery and equipment at auction in 2010 created an estimated capital gains tax liability in [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 19 weeks 6 hours ago

Despite Santa Claus: Prepayment and Default Interest Clauses Upheld

In Kimbrell Realty, the court addressed the question of whether certain prepayment and default interest provisions contained within a lender’s loan documents were enforceable as a matter of Illinois law. [...]



From Bankruptcy Blog
Posted 21 weeks 2 days ago