Prime rate is 7.5% as of December 18, 2024.
New, so-called “restyled” Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure became effective on December 1, 2024. Virtually every bankruptcy rule has been rewritten. Some subparts of the rules have been renumbered. You can find a side-by-side comparison of “before” and “after” the rules were restyled starting on page 575 of the 1,107-page report available here. https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2023_scotus_package_final_0.pdf.
Federal Bankruptcy Rule 7001 was amended to provide that a request for turnover of tangible personal property may be made by motion instead of by adversary proceeding. The rule change does not affect the legal issue of whether retention of a repossessed car is a violation of the automatic stay after the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling in City of Chicago v. Fulton; it merely facilitates the process.
The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky amended some of its local rules and forms effective December 1, 2024. The court adopted a new local form order for adequate protection so that if the debtor fails to submit an order for adequate protection as required by Local Rule 3015-4(b), the creditor may submit its own order for adequate protection, KYEB Local Form 3015(4)(c). The order will be entered immediately, but other parties have 21 days within which to object. The creditor is no longer required to file a motion.
The new “no-look” fee for attorneys representing debtors in chapter 13 cases is $4,500 effective with cases filed on or after December 1, 2024. Keep in mind that the attorney is expected to provide a litany of services in a competent manner in exchange for the $4,500 fee. See the Rights and Responsibilities of Chapter 13 Debtors and Their Attorneys, KYEB Local Form 2016-2(a)(i). When an attorney’s performance is sub-par, I am requesting the attorney to voluntarily reduce their fee.
Debtors’ attorneys, to avoid mail delays in getting paid, you may be paid via direct deposit. Here is a prior post with more information.
I am now able to make “conduit” mortgage payments – i.e., I will make the ongoing postpetition mortgage payments to the creditor rather than the debtor paying the mortgage directly. Several creditors are requesting conduit mortgages as a condition of settling a motion for relief from stay. I will do a subsequent post on the pro’s and con’s of conduit mortgages, but for now just be aware that it is an option.
