Note: This is the final installment of a three-part blog series about ABLS clients and their debt resolution stories. In March and April, we shared the debt restructuring stories of retired and active Iowa farmers Jerry and Deb, and Paul and Linda, respectively. In this blog, meet a third Iowa farmer: Wade. Wade had his […]
Chapter 12
From Debt to Deliverance: Paul and Linda
Note: This is the second of a three-part blog series about ABLS clients and their debt resolution stories. In March we shared the story of retired Iowa farmers Jerry and Deb and the debt restructuring plan we developed for them. In this blog meet another Iowa farm couple, Paul and Linda. An average crop in […]
From Debt to Deliverance: Jerry and Deb
Poor crops. A barn fire. Disabling injuries. New bank managers who don’t know you and are less cooperative than the ones they replaced. Our clients have experienced devastating events like these, and more. Events that threatened to leave them destitute. In this month’s blog, and in April and May, we’ll share stories of three farm […]
Chapter 12 Bankruptcy Rules of Engagement: Farming Operation or Not?
Relief for Farmers Prior to 1986, a debtor intending to reorganize debts had two options for filing for bankruptcy: Chapter 11 or Chapter 13. Unfortunately, neither option was particularly well suited for family farmers. Chapter 11 provided a complicated and expensive route to relief, while Chapter 13 lent itself to reorganizing debt loads much lower […]
Creditor Attorney Fees in Bankruptcy
In bankruptcy, parties fight over a limited pool of assets while fees diminish what remains in the estate. While most creditors are responsible for paying their own attorneys’ fees, oversecured creditors are entitled to attorney fees from the debtor pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 506(b) which states: To the extent that an allowed secured claim is […]
Chapter 12 Bankruptcy: Is it right for me?
The decision to file bankruptcy is not one that is made lightly. By the time the petition is filed, there have likely been many difficult conversations and strategy sessions to make sure that the entity or individual is making the best move for the future. An essential part of that strategy involves considering the goals […]
What Every Bankruptcy Lawyer Must Know About Chapter 12
Shareholder Joe Peiffer and associate Austin Peiffer recently co-authored an article on chapter 12 bankruptcy with Vermont bankruptcy trustee Jan Sensenich. It was published in the May 2021 edition of the American Bankruptcy Institute‘s ABI Journal. **As of April 1, 2022, the chapter 12 bankruptcy debt limit was raised to $11,097,350.
ABLS Saves Debtor Thousands, Receives Judge’s Complements
Recently shareholder Joe Peiffer and associate Austin Peiffer went toe-to-toe with attorneys representing Farm Credit over that creditor’s exorbitant fee demand. While secured creditors often have the right to make the debtor pay their attorney fees, those fees must be reasonable, and in this case they weren’t. Judge Collins agreed, and by objecting to Farm […]
Joe Peiffer Quoted in Debtwire Article
31 December 2019 | 12:27 EST Farm bankruptcies hit nine-year high; impact of higher debt cap remains unclear Chapter 12 family farm bankruptcy filings soared in 2019 to their highest level since 2010 as unusually brutal weather heaped more stress on an agriculture sector already reeling from the trade war with China and multiple years […]
Thirty-Three Years of Asking, “Are We There Yet?”
The Commercial Law League of America recently published Joe Peiffer’s article “Thirty-Three Years of Asking “Are We There Yet?”” as one of the title articles in the summer edition of their publication, Commercial Law World. Click the image below to read the article. **As of April 1, 2022 the chapter 12 bankruptcy debt limit has […]
October 2019 ABI Legislative Update
On August 23, 2019 President Trump signed a several bankruptcy law changes. Joe Peiffer recently discussed the changes with ABI Executive Director Sam Gerdano and fellow bankruptcy practitioners Robert Keach, Kristina Stanger, and Don Swanson. Click the image below to read the whole legislative update from the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Chapter 12 Debt Limit on the Big Show
Joseph Peiffer chats with Doug Cooper about Chapter 12 and raising its debt limit on the Big Show The audio from this conversation is below, as well as the transcript. Doug Cooper:I have been spending some time with Joe Peiffer. He is a bankruptcy lawyer with Ag & Business Legal Strategies, and he has been […]
Joe Peiffer Discusses Cash Flows on the Big Show
Doug Cooper: Joe Peiffer is a bankruptcy lawyer with Ag & Business Legal Strategies in Cedar Rapids and Joe, we’ve been talking about a number of things and a couple of things slipped through last congress and didn’t get done. One of those was the debt increase on Chapter 12. What’s the latest? Joe Peiffer: […]
Farms on the Margins: Debt Figures Raise Questions of Whether Farm Debt is on Cruise Control
Joe Peiffer recently chatted with Chris Clayton of Progressive Farmer/DTN regarding the current farm situation. Article: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/Ag/news/business-inputs/article/2019/03/19/debt-figures-raise-questions-whether Excerpts: “Right now, we’re having many people find out shortly before they have to pay rent that they aren’t going to have financing,” said Peiffer, who works with farmers in Iowa and Illinois. Some of these farmers needed millions […]
Thirty Years of Asking
Joe Peiffer recently wrote an article for the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal entitled Thirty Years of Asking, “Are We There Yet?”: Congress Rights a Taxing Wrong in Chapter 12. Click the thumbnail below to read the entire article:
Article on Chapter 12 from Bloomberg
Joe was interviewed earlier this year for an article on Chapter 12, featured on the Bloomberg website. Here’s an excerpt: “While heartening to farmers, the bill’s prospects are unclear as standalone legislation. Similar bills over the past few years, also proposed in the Senate, have died in committee.” Read the full article here: https://www.bna.com/us-senate-bill-n73014453020/
How Recently Enacted Amendment to Clarify Chapter 12 Will Help Struggling Farmers – Ep. 208
Joe Peiffer recently chatted with Sam Gerdano of the American Bankruptcy Institute regarding the changes in Chapter 12 bankruptcies. Here’s their conversation: If you prefer to read along, the transcript is below: Welcome to another American Bankruptcy Institute podcast. I’m Sam Gerdano, ABI executive director. It’s fair to say that the current 115th Congress hasn’t […]
Joe Peiffer on the Big Show
Joe Peiffer recently chatted with Doug Cooper, one of the hosts of the Big Show on WMT and other midwest radio stations, about the changes in Chapter 12 bankruptcy laws and the current farm economy. Here are the first two segments of that interview (We will update this post when more segments have aired). If […]