Bankruptcy Mastery

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Dig Deep In Your First Meeting With A Prospective Client

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Before filing, lawyer skills

client interview

The success of a bankruptcy case is frequently determined at the first meeting between client and lawyer. The information that is exchanged and the confidence that is built at that  encounter shapes the client’s expectations, the choice of chapter, the timing of the filing and much more. So I cringe when I hear stories about […]

Filed Under: Before filing, lawyer skills

Phantom Creditors In Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Before filing

phantom creditors

Don’t overlook in rem liability when scheduling creditors. These phantom creditors often waft through the lives of debtors.  The client may not see them, but as debtor’s lawyers,we must pull those creditors into the light. Phantom creditors may have no claim against the debtor personally, but nonetheless, need to be scheduled. Liabilities of property In […]

Filed Under: Before filing Tagged With: bankruptcy creditor, liability, liens

The 50 State Treasure Hunt

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Before filing

treasure map

Joint bank accounts present one of the most vexing problems for a bankruptcy lawyer. Too often, your client is a signatory on an account containing someone else’s money. The parties think a joint account is a convenience; often it’s a hedge so that the client can care for a parent or other dependent person should […]

Filed Under: Before filing

Business Bankruptcy and The Bingo Effect

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Before filing, Business bankruptcy

phantom creditors

The lives of business bankruptcy clients are peopled with a less than obvious cast of creditors. You need to flush them out and herd them in line before the case is filed. Near miss I had a close call, or rather my client had a close call, this week when some new information just slipped […]

Filed Under: Before filing, Business bankruptcy

Watch Out For The Ripple Effects of Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Before filing

No man, and the rare bankruptcy debtor, is an island.  He or she comes with financial connections to family, former spouses, and partners of various sorts. The challenge for bankruptcy counsel is to identify those interconnected others and to advise the debtor of the consequences of the filing on those he cares about. Real estate […]

Filed Under: Before filing

Think Beyond The Means Test

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice, Before filing, lawyer skills

It started as a means test question:  could emergency medical expenses be deemed non consumer debt.  It ended up as a step back to get the bigger picture. Well seasoned bankruptcy counsel brought the fact pattern to a list serve of colleagues.  The prospective debtors’  income in a small consulting corporation is declining,  his health […]

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice, Before filing, lawyer skills

Are You Playing Chapter 7 With A Full Deck Of Cards?

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Before filing

If unscheduled assets are discovered by the trustee, can you dismiss a Chapter 7 case? The question came from the audience of my presentation to bankruptcy lawyers on techniques for the  initial interview with the client.  It boiled down to:  what are the consequences for not doing a skillful job of  extracting the whole story […]

Filed Under: Before filing

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