The case of Anthony Hugger v. Lawrence J. Warfield et al. reveals the danger of not carefully tracking days before filing for bankruptcy if you seek to discharge taxes. Mr. Hugger received his discharge in May 2017 after filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy case, only to realize in September 2017 that he had filed too early to obtain a discharge of his tax debts. After realizing his mistake, Hugger requested that the bankruptcy court vacate his discharge and dismiss the chapter 8 case. Hugger realized that if he was granted a do-over, he could file another chapter 7 case that would allow the tax debts to age into discharge status. However, the 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) affirmed the bankruptcy court’s judgement denying Hugger’s request for vacature and dismissal.
Posted by Jessica Zhang, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.
