I recently attended a continuing education course that was presented by a group of Arizona bankruptcy attorneys that I am apart of. The presentation was given by three Phoenix bankruptcy trustees. In every bankruptcy case that is filed there a bankruptcy trustee assigned to review your documents and administer your case. The main point of the presentation was to give us attorneys pointers on how to help our client’s bankruptcy cases proceed more smoothly from the view point of the trustee. Bankruptcy trustees generally have a lot of cases. The information we were [...]
You made “the call”. I realize that by the time my clients actually call me to set up a bankruptcy consultation there has been a lot of internal (and external) debate. Now that you have taken the all important first step of setting up the bankruptcy consultation I thought I would share a few ideas of how you can make this meeting as productive as possible. #1 – Whatever You Tell Me is Confidential When you visit with me in my office about your debt problems those discussions are protected [...]
In a chapter 13 bankruptcy you will be required to pay your disposable income to your creditors over the life of your bankruptcy case. Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases typically are a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years long. In calculating your disposable income we look at your monthly income and subtract all of your monthly expenses – not including payments you are currently making on your debts. Part of this process is disclosing to the bankruptcy court your monthly budget. Your budget is relevant because the [...]
Recently the court released information on the number of people who represent themselves in bankruptcy. Arizona ranked third overall in number of “pro se” bankruptcy filers. In fact, in Arizona, a full 20% of bankruptcy filers were doing it without the aid of an attorney. At the risk of sounding self-serving, there are tremendous risks to filing your bankruptcy case on your own. This article will go over some of the challenges and why hiring a bankruptcy lawyer is the best route to go when filing bankruptcy in Phoenix, Arizona. Failure [...]
This is the second installment in a three part series of the bankruptcy process in Arizona. In the first article I discussed what to expect prior to your bankruptcy case being filed. In this article I will go over what you can expect after your case is filed up through the day when the bankruptcy court grants you a discharge of your debts. The Day After Your Your Bankruptcy is Filed Immediately upon filing your bankruptcy case the bankruptcy court issues an order called the Automatic Stay that stops all collection [...]
I meet with a lot of people who believe that bankruptcy is going to be their best option. And truthfully, for most of the people I meet with bankruptcy is not only the best option but something they should have done a long time ago. However, when I meet with families, there are those that should not file for bankruptcy for one reason or another. I have put together a list of seven (7) reasons why you should not file for bankruptcy. #1 You Can Afford to Pay Your Debts This [...]
How many times in the last year have you received a notice that your power may be cut off because your are behind on the monthly bill? Or wondered how you were going to get to work or the kids to school because you didn’t have enough gas money? How many nights have you laid awake wondering how you were ever going to get out of the financial mess you are currently suffering through? As a bankruptcy attorney, I have a unique view into the pain many families are going [...]
In Sunday’s newspaper they reported that nationwide there is expected to be an increase in the number of foreclosures. This not only impacts those families who are losing their homes but results in a continued downward trend in home values here in Arizona. If your home has been put up for foreclosure, or if you are debating whether you should stay in your home or not, it is important to understand how bankruptcy can help and open the options you have in dealing with your home. Below are three common scenarios [...]
Often clients tell me that it took a long time for them to finally make an appointment to see me about their bankruptcy. No one wants to file for bankruptcy, but sometimes it becomes necessary. The problem I often see is that people will wait too long to file their bankruptcy case, putting themselves in a more difficult spot than they otherwise would have been. Along those lines, here are four reasons to file your bankruptcy sooner than later: #1 You May Not Qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy if [...]
When you have made the decision that it is necessary to file for bankruptcy the next step is to plan out when you are going to file your bankruptcy and all the steps that lead up to that day. Almost daily I meet with people who really need to file bankruptcy but have put themselves in a difficult position because of recent pre-bankruptcy transfers or failure to pay the “right” bills. Along those lines, I thought I would put together a list of Do’s and Don’ts for those preparing to [...]
