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Lawyer files a Chapter 13 Petition for a woman who died 10 years earlier.
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He files another Chapter 13 Petition for the same dead woman 2 years later.
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States that he was asked by the woman’s daughter to file.
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Lawyer filed the skeleton petition on the eve of foreclosure of the house included in the estate.
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As a defense to filing the bankruptcy, the lawyer told the Court that he was unaware that he could not file bankruptcy for a probate estate.
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Both bankruptcy cases were eventually withdrawn by the lawyer.
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The Trustee educated the lawyer that dead people cannot file for bankruptcy.
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In addition, the Bankruptcy Court Judge issued significant sanctions against the Lawyer.
Below are the facts of the Bankruptcy Court Ruling and Lawyer’s Appeal:
- Lawyer made false statements
- There are no excuses for alleging ignorance about rules on filing for a dead person
- Lawyer did not conduct reasonable investigation into the debtor’s eligibility
- The lawyer appealed the Judge’s ruling and sanctions
- Nice try by the lawyer in his efforts to appeal the sanctions; but no one believed him…..
Shame on the lawyer!!!!! for filing this Chapter 13 Case
Keep in Mind that Bankruptcy is a Specialized Field of Law. A lawyer should not represent clients in a field he has little or no expertise.
As a Board Certified Bankruptcy Lawyer , this mistake in filing would never happen. Ralph A. Ferro, Jr., Esq. Bankruptcy Lawyer
I am here to provide expert bankruptcy consultations, call me today.
