A bankruptcy judge said a debtor's offer to pay a law firm 27 percent of a judgment that the firm had secured for handling her divorce met the good faith standard and was acceptable to settle her debt.

Buffalo Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Kaplan noted that while the payment plan offered by Krystyna Wrobel would bring the HoganWillig firm $23,989 of the $88,850 sought, it was a marked improvement over Wrobel's previous offers to pay the firm 5 percent ($4,442) and then 10 percent ($8,885).

HoganWillig initially billed Wrobel more than $120,000 for its work in her divorce case. The firm had advanced a counterproposal under which she would pay the firm nothing for five years while she recovered financially, and then pay $75,000 by either selling or mortgaging the condominium that the firm said she bought with funds she got in the divorce, thanks largely to its efforts.