Skeen & Skeen P.C.

08/10/2021

When I tell people I practice bankruptcy the inevitable response is “you must be busy.” Um, actually...“Total consumer filings decreased 23 percent in July 2021, as the 30,686 filings fell from the 40,085 consumer filings registered in July 2020.”

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03/24/2021

"Clearly people, mainly through government actions, have not yet felt the pain, and have not had the type of event that would precipitate a bankruptcy. They may not be paying their rent or their mortgage but they are not being foreclosed on yet."

Despite a pandemic that has upended industries and resulted in massive job losses, bankruptcy filings are down.

05/14/2020

"The US Congress moved with remarkable speed to approve rescue measures for small businesses, large industries and workers, amounting to nearly $3 trillion.

But that infusion simply 'bought time... it postponed' bankruptcies, David Kotok, cofounder of Cumberland Advisors, said of the massive federal push to support the economy."

Since COVID-19 shuttered much of the global economy, airlines, major retail chains, oil companies and other hard-hit businesses have been able to tap bank facilities and public debt markets for the funds they need to keep paying the bills and stay afloat. The US Congress moved with remarkable speed

05/13/2020

-Don't wait to talk to a bankruptcy attorney
-Don't touch your retirement money
-Don't let cash pile up
-Don't sell stuff
-Don't pass up forbearance options

People ask themselves “Should I file for bankruptcy?” too late in the process. Start thinking defensively now to give yourself more options later.

04/23/2020

ABI Chart of the Day:

ABI Chart of the Day: Continued Unemployment Claims Since 1967. http://ow.ly/vaip50zmvNt

01/25/2020

Skeen & Skeen, P.C. was honored today with the Donald E. Cordova Distinguished Service Award for our commitment to pro bono bankruptcy representation over the years. Much thanks to the Faculty of Federal Advocates and the American Bankruptcy Institute for recognizing us today.

04/16/2019

523(a)(7) excepts from discharge fines, penalties, and forfeitures payable to a governmental unit, which are "not compensation for actual pecuniary loss." In this case, a debtor attempted to have certain restitution orders deemed discharged. The court denied her request, finding that the legislature was clear that restitution under the statutes the debtor had violated had a punitive character.

06/21/2018

Interesting article about the benefits of filing bankruptcy. I would add that it is also important not to file too soon. A debtor should be in a place where he won’t simple fall back into debt immediately after filing. Bankruptcy is a great for solving debt problems, it does not help solve income problems.

The longer people wait to file bankruptcy, the more they struggle, according to a 2018 law review study. Here's why you should use this legal tool sooner rather than later to regain your financial footing.

06/15/2018

This was trending on LinkedIn this morning, and it does a pretty solid job of explaining the issue. Congress didn't clearly define what "undue hardship" (the standard for discharging a student loan) is. Early case law made "undue hardship" almost impossible to prove- you basically need to be totally disabled to get a student loan discharge. (And if you do qualify under that standard, the DOE will usually forgive the loan rather than fight in court.) But a few judges seem to be questioning the wisdom of those early decisions, and the DOE is considering changing policy regarding how they respond to attempts to discharge loans. Although it will probably take an act of Congress to really solve the issue.

Decades of law and tradition made college debt immune from the bankruptcy process. With hundreds of thousands of people buckling under the burden, more judges are questioning whether that rule is too harsh. Some are starting to find ways help to debtors.

06/04/2018

While the analysts will likely spend more time discussing the cake shop case today, Ben Skeen is happy to share his thoughts on a separate decision which directly impacts one of his favorite areas of practice.

When an individual debtor files for bankruptcy, one of the ultimate objectives is usually a discharge- a court order stating that the debtor is no