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Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 8.7.5 Modification of the Plan

Debtors often need to modify their plans after confirmation, either to raise payments to accommodate postpetition claims or to lower the payments because the debtor has had a change of circumstances. One such change of circumstances may occur if the debtor loses use of a car that serves as collateral for a secured claim being paid under the plan, through its destruction, repossession, inoperability, or other cause, or if the debtor no longer needs the vehicle.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 8.7.6.2 Plan Modifications That Enable the Debtor to Complete the Plan

The most preferable option when addressing a problem in completing the plan is often modification, following the procedure described above.310 Modification may allow the chapter 13 plan to proceed to conclusion by lowering the payments to a level the debtor can afford or by extending the payments, provided that the extension does not exceed the maximum sixty-month plan term.311 It may also be possible to modify the plan to terminate earlier than originally proposed.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 8.7.6.5 Dismissal

A final option is dismissal, also available to a chapter 13 debtor as of right in any case not previously converted from another chapter.324 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1017(d), the debtor may obtain a voluntary dismissal by filing a motion stating the debtor’s entitlement to dismissal. An involuntary dismissal may also occur on motion of the chapter 13 trustee, the United States trustee, or a creditor.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 8.8.1 Overview

Once the time for objecting to a discharge has passed in a chapter 7 case and proof of the debtor’s completion of a financial education course has been filed, with a few limited exceptions, the debtor is entitled to a discharge.331

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 8.8.2 Reaffirmation of Debts

The principal stated purpose of the discharge hearing is to advise debtors of their rights, especially with regard to reaffirmation of debts. In a well-handled case, this counsel should already have been provided by the debtor’s attorney. Without doubt, the best advice in this regard is simply that reaffirmation is rarely a good idea.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 8.8.3 Procedure When There Is a Discharge Hearing

If the court decides to have a discharge hearing even though there will be no reaffirmation of debts, the discharge hearing is usually a very brief affair, with nothing to be said by the debtor or the debtor’s counsel. In fact, in many jurisdictions, debtors’ counsel are not required to attend the hearing in such cases. The court usually warns the debtor about creditors trying to collect their debts or obtain reaffirmations in the future, and lets the debtor know that bankruptcy is a serious business.

Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice: 8.9 After Discharge

Once the discharge has been granted and all related litigation has ended, one or two steps normally remain to be taken in representing the debtor. These final details may be quite important in particular cases and should not be neglected.

Fair Credit Reporting: Introduction

Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) in 1999 as Pub. L. No. 106-102. Title V of the GLBA, codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 6801 through 6809, addresses consumers’ financial privacy by regulating financial institutions’ disclosure of consumers’ “nonpublic personal information,” 15 U.S.C. § 6809(4).

Fair Credit Reporting: 15 U.S.C. § 6803. Disclosure of institution privacy policy

(a) Disclosure required

At the time of establishing a customer relationship with a consumer and not less than annually during the continuation of such relationship, a financial institution shall provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure to such consumer, in writing or in electronic form or other form permitted by the regulations prescribed under section 6804 of this title, of such financial institution’s policies and practices with respect to—

Fair Credit Reporting: 15 U.S.C. § 6805. Enforcement

(a) In general

Subject to subtitle B of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, this subchapter and the regulations prescribed thereunder shall be enforced by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Federal functional regulators, the State insurance authorities, and the Federal Trade Commission with respect to financial institutions and other persons subject to their jurisdiction under applicable law, as follows:

Fair Credit Reporting: 15 U.S.C. § 6806. Relation to other provisions

Except for the amendments made of subsections (a) and (b), nothing in this chapter shall be construed to modify, limit, or supersede the operation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), and no inference shall be drawn on the basis of the provisions of this chapter regarding whether information is transaction or experience information under section 603 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a).

[Pub. L. No. 106-102, tit. V, § 506(c), 113 Stat. 1442 (Nov. 12, 1999)]

Fair Credit Reporting: 15 U.S.C. § 6807. Relation to State laws

(a) In general

This subchapter and the amendments made to this subchapter shall not be construed as superseding, altering, or affecting any statute, regulation, order, or interpretation in effect in any State, except to the extent that such statute, regulation, order, or interpretation is inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency.

(b) Greater protection under State law

Fair Credit Reporting: 15 U.S.C. § 6808. Study of information sharing among financial affiliates

(a) In general

The Secretary of the Treasury, in conjunction with the Federal functional regulators and the Federal Trade Commission, shall conduct a study of information sharing practices among financial institutions and their affiliates. Such study shall include—

(1) the purposes for the sharing of confidential customer information with affiliates or with nonaffiliated third parties;

Fair Credit Reporting: 15 U.S.C. § 6809. Definitions

As used in this subchapter:

(1) Federal banking agency

The term “Federal banking agency” has the same meaning as given in section 1813 of Title 12.

(2) Federal functional regulator

The term “Federal functional regulator” means—

(A) the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;

(B) the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;

Fair Credit Reporting: Introduction

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule establishing a new Regulation P (Privacy of Consumer Financial Information). 81 Fed. Reg. 25,325 (Apr. 28, 2016). This final rule, known as Regulation P, is reproduced here and is also available as companion material to this treatise. It substantially duplicates the FTC’s Privacy Rule, which now covers far fewer financial institutions, specifically, auto dealers.

Fair Credit Reporting: 12 C.F.R. § 1016.1 Purpose and scope.

(a) Purpose. This part governs the treatment of nonpublic personal information about consumers by the financial institutions listed in paragraph (b) of this section. This part:

(1) Requires a financial institution to provide notice to customers about its privacy policies and practices;

(2) Describes the conditions under which a financial institution may disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties; and

Fair Credit Reporting: 12 C.F.R. § 1016.2 Model privacy form and examples.

(a) Model privacy form. Use of the model privacy form in the appendix to this part, consistent with the instructions in the appendix constitutes compliance with the notice content requirements of §§ 1016.6 and 1016.7 of this part, although use of the model privacy form is not required.

(b) Examples. The examples in this part are not exclusive. Compliance with an example, to the extent applicable, constitutes compliance with this part.

Fair Credit Reporting: 12 C.F.R. § 1016.3 Definitions.

As used in this part, unless the context requires otherwise:

(a)(1) Affiliate means any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company.

(2) Examples in the case of a credit union.

(i) An affiliate of a Federal credit union is a credit union service organization (CUSO), as provided in 12 CFR part 712, that is controlled by the Federal credit union.