Posted by Robert Weed / in Blog, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Virginia Bankruptcy /

Chapter 7 Trustee Donald F King

Donald F King is one of the four Chapter 7 trustees in the Alexandria Virginia Bankruptcy court. When you file a bankruptcy case in Alexandria, the computer assigns you to one of the four trustees.

Lawyers are appointed Chapter 7 trustees as a part-time assignment.  He’s a partner in the law firm of Odin Feldman & Pittleman PC, located in Reston. King and is head of that firm’s bankruptcy and creditors rights practice.

When he was younger, he was a NCAA Football official.  During the 2012 NFL referee strike/lockout, he was a replacement referee in one game and umpire in three.

As a Chapter 7 Trustee, he has two sets of bosses.  The US Justice Department, through the Office of the United States Trustee.  And the two Bankruptcy Judges here, Judge Brian F. Kenney and Judge Klinette H. Kindred.

We paid a $338.00 filing fee when we filed your bankruptcy case. Sixty dollars of that went to Trustee King. For each case, including yours, he is paid an additional $60.00 that is indirectly collected from Chapter 11 bankruptcies. (Congress thinks the bankruptcy courts to raise enough in fees to pay for themselves.  No other part of the federal court system does that.)

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee Donald F. King

As your Chapter 7 Trustee, Donald King is in charge of your bankruptcy hearing, which is called the “meeting of creditors.” There are very, very rarely any creditors at the meeting of creditors.  So the Chapter 7 Trustee asks the questions. (Because the trustee is not a judge, he should be called “sir” not “your honor.”)

The bankruptcy court computer schedules fourteen hearings an hour.  That’s just over four minutes per case.

For now, bankruptcy hearings in Alexandria are by telephone. For the Donald King hearings, you should call (877) 953-3011 using the code 1445548.

Donald King is a stickler on paperwork and deadlines.  We are required to send in bank statements for each of your accounts one week before your hearing is scheduled.  If we are a couple days late on that one week requirement, Trustee Donald King will most likely make you, and me, come back two weeks later.

Posted by Robert Weed / in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

When you file bankruptcy, they make it hard to pay your car payment. Be prepared to use the mail.

You file bankruptcy and you want to keep your car. You know that means you need to keep paying.

Seems like the car finance people would welcome your payments; but they make it hard. That may be the most annoying thing that happens when you file bankruptcy. So be prepared.

If you know what to expect, here’s how to prepare.

Here’s the key info you need to round up, before we send in your bankruptcy papers:

Your account number

Your payment address

The date each month the payment is due

The date of the final payment

When you file bankruptcy, the car finance company will stop sending you bills. If you had an automatic deduction from your bank account, they will turn that off. They will shut off your internet access for your account.  And if you call for information, you probably won’t get is.

All that is pretty annoying.  (I explain here that’s because “you don’t have to pay.” Of course the car still has to pay.)

Here’s how to make your car payment when you file bankruptcy. You can use the mail.

How to make your car payment, when you file bankruptcy. You can mail a check every month.

So once you file bankruptcy, paying the car is like paying the rent; you need to remember it on your own.

You can make a note on your calendar to mail them a check every month. Or you can use your bank’s bill pay to automatically send a check. (Filing bankruptcy stops the car finance people from taking money automatically from your account. But it doesn’t stop your bank from sending money automatically from your account.)

That’s why you need to track down the account number and payment address before we send in your bankruptcy papers. So you have all the info you need to set up that bill pay with your bank.

If you know what to expect, it’s really not that hard.

And if it’s the most annoying thing about filing bankruptcy, well, for most people bankruptcy works.

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Blog, Chapter 7, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy / No comments yet

IRS Means Never Having to Say….Anything

The IRS is not like most creditors. (Your probably knew that.)  The IRS in bankruptcy is not like most creditors in bankruptcy, either.

Knowing what debts have been cleared (discharged) by your bankruptcy is easy for most debts. For credit cards, loans (including payday loans, who want you to think they are somebody special), car loans, medicals. When those debts are properly listed (scheduled) in the bankruptcy, they are automatically discharged, unless they object.

So, for example, Capital One. Was your Capital One card listed on the schedule of debts? (Schedule F.) Yes. Did they object? No. Then they are discharged.

That’s NOT the rule for the IRS in bankruptcy.

IRS and Bankruptcy: Not Like Other Debts

IRS in bankruptcy is not like other creditors.

First of all, not all income tax debts can be discharged. (Some people assume none can be, but you know better than that.) The main rule is you can discharge taxes that were due more than three years ago, and were properly filed. See 11 USC § 523(a)(1).

More than Three Years—Look at the Calendar

The due date for taxes is usually April 15, unless there was a holiday, or you asked for an extension, or because of some natural disaster (Covid-19 in 2020) there was an automatic extension.  523(a)(1).

That you can figure out for yourself, usually. (There are other rules on timing that do apply. This is NOT a complete analysis.)

Properly Filed—Lots of Gray Area

I say “properly filed” but that’s not the wording in the law. It’s my shorthand.

Your taxes do have to be filed, by you. (When people are chronically late, the IRS will often look at the W-2’s, estimate a tax and send you a bill. That does NOT count as filing a return for bankruptcy purposes).

You can’t file a fraudulent return. And you can’t willfully attempt[ed] in any manner to evade or defeat such tax.

That gray area is enough to give anyone who owes taxes some worry about what the IRS will do. You might feel certain you don’t pay because you were broke, but worry the IRS says you were evading.

I Got My Discharge. Am I OK?

The IRS does NOT have to say. The IRS does NOT have to tell the bankruptcy court, or you, if they say you filed a fraudulent return or willfully attempted to evade. They can decide whenever they want that they think you’re an evader.  You find out when you get collection notices again.

Should we ask the bankruptcy judge to decide?

Instead of waiting to see what they do, we can force the IRS to explain their position to the bankruptcy judge. Experts in that field say that’s a bad idea. A lot of times the IRS will let something borderline slide, but if you bring in the judge, they will fight you.  (At least that was the consensus at the NACBA convention panel in May 2021.)

Is There Anything I Should Do?

Actually there is. You should get your account transcript and look at the IRS notes. You can see if they have your debt coded as discharged in bankruptcy. Or are they showing something else.  You can get your transcripts here.

Get your tax account transcript.  The IRS has several different transcripts, For what we are talking about, the tax account transcript is the one you want.

What If There’s an IRS and Bankruptcy Problem?

So at the end of your bankruptcy, there might still be a problem.  The IRS might claim a tax is still there that we think should be discharged.  Going back to fight that in front of the bankruptcy judge can be way harder and more expensive than the bankruptcy itself.