| Securities Investor Protection Act |
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| The Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) was designed to create a new form of liquidation proceeding. SIPA created the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), a nonprofit, private membership corporation to which most registered brokers and dealers are required to belong. The SIPC fund constitutes an insurance program. The fund is designed to protect the customers of brokers or dealers subject to SIPA from loss in case of financial failure of the member. The fund is supported by assessments upon its members. More... |
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| IRA Protection in Bankruptcy |
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| Social Security benefits, company pensions, and 401(k) plans are all shielded by law and are, therefore, not lost to creditors in bankruptcy. Whether that same protection extends to an individual retirement account (IRA) is not clear. The bankruptcy law, which was drafted in the 1970's before IRAs became such an important vehicle for retirement savings, is ambiguous. This has led to contradictory rulings in federal courts around the country.More... |
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| Unsecured Claims |
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| Unsecured debt may be generally described as a debt where credit was granted based solely upon the promise or ability of the debtor to pay. Claims that are not secured by any collateral or subject to setoff are generally unsecured claims. For purposes of bankruptcy, unsecured claims are classified and paid based on a priority list described in the Bankruptcy Code. Each class must be paid in full before the next lower class is paid anything.More... |
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| Dischargeability of Taxes in Bankruptcy |
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| Debtors may be able to discharge some or all of their older income tax obligations in bankruptcy. Dischargeability of these taxes turns on the question whether or not they are "priority" claims. Tax obligations that are non-priority are dischargeable. More... |
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| Reconsideration of Claims |
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| The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure provide that a party in interest may move for reconsideration of an order allowing or disallowing a claim against the estate and that the court after a hearing on notice should enter an appropriate order. The reconsideration of a claim cannot upset proper distributions already made to holders of other allowed claims. More... |
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