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Let’s face it: Effective consumer bankruptcy lawyers eschew litigation. Bankruptcy procedures promote compromise, and bankruptcy judges favor settlement. Many bankruptcy lawyers develop good settlement skills without ever participating in formal dispute-resolution processes. But occasionally, even effective lawyers can’t settle a case on their own. In those cases, lawyers need to know when to request the assistance of a mediator and how to successfully participate in a mediation.

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Effective Oct. 1, 2019, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida has started its student loan management program (SLM). The program is the result of the work of debtors’ attorneys and the Department of Justice to create a forum for debtors and lenders to discuss consensual repayment options for student loans within bankruptcy cases and is primarily aimed at chapter 13 debtors, although it is available to individual or joint debtors filing under chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13.

On Aug. 26, 2019, the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. No: 116-51) was signed into law, substantially increasing the debt limit for agricultural producers seeking to file for relief under chapter 12. The debt limit increase — from approximately $4.3 million to $10 million — will dramatically expand chapter 12 bankruptcy eligibility at a time of turmoil for the U.S. agriculture industry, precipitated by years of depressed farm income, crop overproduction, increased debt loads, natural disasters, extreme weather events and, more recently, retaliatory tariffs on many U.S.

Through the reaffirmation process, debtors may voluntarily enter into agreements with creditors to repay otherwise-dischargeable debts.[2] However, when a dispute arises as to whether a party has performed its end of the bargain, the question becomes whether the terms of the original agreement or the reaffirmation agreement apply.

In a chapter 13 bankruptcy, a debtor in default under a residential lease may assume the lease but the debtor’s plan must provide a cure provision for the pre-petition default. 11 U.S.C. §365. If the debtor later rejects the post confirmation assumed lease, is the lessor entitled to an administrative expense claim for post-petition rents?