In assessing the applicability of Code § 523(a)(6), some circuits have essentially collapsed the terms “willful” and “malicious,” applying a unitary test. See, e.g., In re McClendon, 765 F.3d 501 (5th Cir. 2014) (applying the unitary standard and “defining a willful and malicious injury as one where there is either an objective substantial certainty of…

U.S. Department of Education and its servicers do not have sovereign immunity to claim for violation of automatic stay: The U.S. Department of Education and its servicers in this case were governmental units as defined in Code § 101(27), and Code § 106(a) unmistakably abrogated the Department’s sovereign immunity. Loan servicers FedLoan Servicing and Navient,…

The Secure Act was signed into law on December 20, 2019, and it could change the treatment of your pre-tax retirement accounts. The Act eliminates “Stretch IRA’s.” Hiers who inherited traditional IRA’s could stretch the IRA Required Minimum Distributions over their lifetime. For example, if a grandfather leaves his traditional IRA to his 25 year-old…