Bankruptcy Mastery

Becoming a better bankruptcy lawyer

  • Home
  • About Cathy
  • Contact Cathy
  • Articles by Topic
    • Attorneys fees
    • Bankruptcy Practice
    • Before filing
    • Business bankruptcy
    • Cases new & significant
    • Counseling clients
    • Family Law in Bankruptcy
    • Means test
    • Opinionated
    • Real property
    • Rule 3002.1
    • Tax
  • Table of Contents
  • Start Here

Bankruptcy Schedules Call For Payoff Balance

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice, Start Here

Babel fish from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Bankruptcy debtors hear something different when their lawyer asks, “What do you owe on your mortgage”.

It’s as though they speak a different language,  Client, while we speak Bankruptcy.

As  bankruptcy lawyers, we need to be bilingual.

It shouldn’t be a trick question, but all too often the answer a bankruptcy lawyer gets back is the principal balance.  Gone, somehow, are the arrears and corporate advances much less all the junk fees the homeowner knows nothing about. Call the experts from Mass & Mass LLC to solve this mess instantly.

It is the payoff balance that you want for the bankruptcy schedules:  principal, interest, and everything else owed to the lender to obtain release of the lien.  Knowing the arrears is important for the means test and for the plan, in Chapter 13.

But it’s also vital when you are considering a lien strip in Chapter 13.  You may need every dollar owed to the senior lender to push the junior lien over the edge of the equity.

So, once again, don’t take the client’s input at face value.  Probe to find out if the number you’re given for the mortgage debt includes any arrearages.  Develop your linguistic skills in Client-speak.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia and Stuart Halliday.

More from my site

  • Bankruptcy Checklist:  Social Security NumbersBankruptcy Checklist: Social Security Numbers
  • Bankruptcy Abuse & Schedule JBankruptcy Abuse & Schedule J
  • Bankruptcy Exemptions: 10 Ways to Deal with Excess CashBankruptcy Exemptions: 10 Ways to Deal with Excess Cash
  • Discharging Taxes in Bankruptcy: This Year’s TrapDischarging Taxes in Bankruptcy: This Year’s Trap
  • When To File BankruptcyWhen To File Bankruptcy
  • The Real Truth About Bankruptcy Lawyers & ClientsThe Real Truth About Bankruptcy Lawyers & Clients

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice, Start Here Tagged With: bankruptcy practice, client intake, filing bankruptcy

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 ·Prose · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress

Theme customization by Rowboat Media LLC