We live in two different worlds, the client and the bankruptcy attorney. “Creditors”, for debtors, means those folks who send a monthly bill, and who call if you are late. “Creditors”, for bankruptcy lawyers, means everyone who has a claim of any kind against the client. In his Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Practice for newcomers last […]
End Run On Chapter 7 Trustee
I found one more reason to file 13 when there MAY be non exempt equity. I tout Chapter 13 as the better choice when there are issues of insider preferences, transfers that might be found constructively fraudulent, or where there are small amounts of equity in assets. It’s better, I think, that the debtor propose […]
The Price Is Not Right
Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The value of the debtor’s stuff is colored by their ownership. Get a truer value by asking the client to imagine buying a replacement, just like the one he owns now. Clients cling to old or comfortable ideas of what their personal property is worth. […]
Automate Yourself Straight To Bankruptcy Malpractice
The debtor’s attorney had him input the schedules through a subscription “bankruptcy interview” website, printed them out in his office and had the debtor sign them, apparently without change. The client got all the downside of self representation but with the cost of a bankruptcy lawyer. The trustee got apoplexy. I got a consult with […]
4 Ways To Know If You’ve Got A Bankruptcy Preference Problem
When should the debtor care about preferences? When it was family or they are filing Chapter 13, is my short answer. Everybody, debtors and lawyers, seem to know that there is something important about transfers made within 90 days of the commencement of the case. There seems to be lots of confusion about what that […]
How Much Of Your Client Are You Exposing?
Do you meekly send your client’s tax return to creditors at their request? Two different authorities suggest it isn’t necessary. One of the stick-it-to-the-debtor provisions of BAPCPA is the mandate that the debtor provide a copy of his tax return to any creditor who requests it. 11 USC 521(e)(2). [I wonder that the reform law […]
Here’s How To Charge More For A “Simple” Bankruptcy Case
Client buy- in and time records saved a Florida bankruptcy attorney from disgorging fees twice the local average for a no asset Chapter 7. How? Marilyn J. Hochman is the poster child for the benefit in keeping meticulous time records when you’re representing consumer debtors. Even though you’re likely working on a flat-fee agreement, the […]
