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Your bankruptcy lawyer’s constant requests for information probably frustrate you.
Once you’ve gotten past the whole, “should I or shouldn’t I,” stage of things, you think it will go pretty quickly. Not so.
In fact, the major chunk of your bankruptcy lawyer’s work is done before the court gets involved.
There are income and expense statements to be provided, financial disclosures to be made, and asset valuations to be completed (that collection of coffee tables books? Yup, we need to figure out how much they’re worth).
We need to account for your financial life in the time leading up to when your bankruptcy case is filed.
And once that’s done, we need to review your debts – all of them – to make sure we time things perfectly.
File No Bankruptcy Before Its Time
Back in the 1970s there was a television commercial for Paul Masson wine. In it, the actor proclaims that the company, “will sell no wine before its time.”
The point was that things needed to be perfect before the wine was released to the public.
So, too, with bankruptcy.
File too soon and you’re taking a risk that things won’t turn out the way you’d hoped.
Wait too long and there’s a chance that you will have wasted precious time in your quest to get out of debt.
Information Needs To Be Fresh
Your income for bankruptcy purposes has to reflect the money you’ve made over the past six months. That means you’ve got to have your most recent paystubs and income information, as well as the current value of what you own (including bank account balances).
If we need to wait to file your bankruptcy case, your information may get stale. In fact, it gets stale every month.
Stale information isn’t useful when it comes to your bankruptcy.
We, As Bankruptcy Lawyers, Repeat Ourselves
Every month until your bankruptcy case is filed brings with it a fresh request for information.
Paystubs. Operating reports for your business. Bank account statements.
It annoys you to have to send us documents every month.
It makes us feel bad to ask you for the same things over and over again, but we’ve got no choice.
We’re On Your Side
We could file your bankruptcy case immediately, but sometimes it’s just not possible.
Timing is important to ensure that you’re protected, and that we get it right the first time.
Part of the reason you hire us is because you respect our opinion and trust our base of knowledge.
Let’s keep working together to make your bankruptcy case a smooth and successful process.
During tax season the question often arises regarding discharged debt and whether it has to be claimed as income on federal income taxes. This widely depends on whether the creditor acknowledges discharged debt as being canceled debt. If this is the case debtors may receive a 1099c form from the creditor to include when they […]
In the last article I touched briefly on whether or not you could continue to make payments on property used as collateral without having to reaffirm the debt with the lender. To understand your options with regard to personal property used as collateral, I will be using the example of a car loan.The post What To Do With Property Used As Collateral During Your Bankruptcy appeared first on Tucson Bankruptcy Attorney.
The 2015 federal budget is proposing deep cuts to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. It’s time to make your voice heard.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program allows federal student loan borrowers to wipe out these loan balances after 10 years if they work for a qualifying public service employer.
Qualifying employment is any employment with a federal, state, or local government agency, entity, or organization or a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Certain private not-for-profit employers may be eligible as well if it provides certain public services.
For the purpose of PSLF, it doesn’t matter what type of employment you perform with the organization. That means the Chief of Neurosurgery at UCLA Medical Center will qualify for PSLF, but so will the janitor at City Hall.
Direct Loans and Direct Consolidation Loans are the only federal student loans eligible for PSLF.
How The 2015 Federal Budget Will Impact Public Service Loan Forgiveness
The President’s 2015 budget will limit Public Service Loan Forgiveness to $57,500. That doesn’t seem to be a problem at first blush because the number corresponds to the maximum federal loan amount that an undergraduate can take out. But look deeper and you’ll see the problem.
Many of the positions with public service employers require (or at least strongly encourage) graduate educations. Teachers, doctors, lawyers, accountants and social workers are just some of the people who have graduate degrees. With the maximum amount of federal student aid for graduate degrees capped at $138,500 (including the $57,500 in undergraduate limits), it’s easy to see that the most highly-educated professionals will no longer be eligible for PSLF under the proposed 2015 budget.
Those Changes Will Impact Who Goes Into Public Service
Many highly employed people choose public service in part because of the ability to get relief from federal student loan debts after a decade of service. They sacrifice a good chunk of their prime earning years for the public good, and many remain in public service once their decade is completed.
If PSLF is limited, those with graduate degrees won’t find public service quite as compelling. They’re more likely to opt for better-paying jobs in the private sector, which will hurt our public service infrastructure.
At the same time, those who are already in public service jobs – teachers, medical personnel, and other important professionals – are going to lose the benefit of the bargain they struck when they took their jobs. They have been working at wages below the private sector with the expectation that they’ll be eligible for federal student loan relief down the line. For many, that simply won’t be the case.
How You Can Help
There’s an online petition as whitehouse.gov to support those who work to help you. Click here and let your voice be heard.
You should also get in touch with your elected representatives and let them know that you oppose any attempts to limited PSLF.
Bringing you the most up-to-date news, tips and blogs throughout the web. Here’s your Bankruptcy Update for March 20th, 2014 Bankruptcy: LightSquared Confirmation Hearing Begins With Questions On FCC NY shipping tycoon to take second bankruptcy hit Medical transcription firm M*Modal files for bankruptcy
A California man gets 17 years in prison for hiding assets in his divorce and bankruptcy cases. Steven K. Zinnel, 50, a former Gold River businessman split from his wife back in 1999 but tensions between them made the divorce even more difficult to deal with. Soon after filing divorce, Zinnel filed bankruptcy and claimed […]
Protecting Your Assets In A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing There are two main goals in filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy. The first goal is to eliminate as much debt as possible in order to get a fresh start. The second goal is to protect either all or as much of your personal property as possible+ Read MoreThe post Protecting Your Assets In A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing appeared first on David M. Siegel.
One factor that can make a difference in how your bankruptcy case proceeds is making necessary deadlines. You may not realize there are a number of timelines related to your case that are important and play a big role in helping debtors achieve the outcome they want. While there may be several you need to […]
Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy, the “national law firm” formed in 2012 by Jacoby & Meyers (the personal injury lawyers) and Macey Bankruptcy Law PC (the firm that operated for years under the name Legal Helpers), has been forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy by a group of creditors including LegalZoom (the self-help folks) and a number of lawyers.
The firm’s website now lists a number of other law firms that will help clients by taking over their cases.
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish, as the saying goes.
If you’re a client of Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy, there are a few things you need to know to avoid being stranded.
You Have A Right To Choose Your Own Bankruptcy Lawyer. It’s nice that J&M has transferred your file to another lawyer who will allegedly honor all fees paid, but how do you know if this is a good bankruptcy attorney? I’m not knocking the lawyers who are taking over the cases, but it’s up to you – not J&M – to pick who is going to represent you.
Most States Prohibit Nonrefundable Fees. If you paid J&M any money towards your bankruptcy case and it hasn’t been filed yet, you may have the right to get your money back. The reality is that you’ll need to file a Proof of Claim in the firm’s bankruptcy case and may never see a dime of it back, but that shouldn’t stop you from filing your claim.
Even If Your Case Has Been Filed, You Can Get A New Lawyer. In a Chapter 7 case, you can get a lawyer for the meeting of creditors as well as any post-filing work by paying a modest amount of money. For Chapter 13 cases, you can get a new lawyer who will be paid through your Chapter 13 Plan. If your Jacoby & Meyers bankruptcy lawyer was going to get paid through your Chapter 13 Plan, you or your new lawyer can object to the claim and ensure they get nothing more than what you’ve already paid.
If Your Case Has Been Filed, Jacoby & Meyers Is Still Responsible Until The Judge Says So. Once your case is filed, your lawyer is obligated to represent you. The only way they get out from under that responsibility is if a judge allows the lawyer to withdraw. It’s unlikely that someone from Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy is going to show up in court with you, but if that’s the case then they’re going to be facing court sanctions and ethical problems to boot.
Ultimately, You Need To Take Control. Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy is still your lawyer if your case has been filed. And if not, you can either opt for one of the new firms or find someone else. You can try to get back the fees you’ve already paid, or you can suck it up and pay someone else to handle your bankruptcy case. In the end, it’s your financial future so don’t just hope that someone else is going to take care of things for you.
Bringing you the most up-to-date news, tips and blogs throughout the web. Here’s your Bankruptcy Update for March 18th, 2014 Quiznos follows Sbarro to bankruptcy Ahead of bankruptcy hearing, LightSquared seeks finding against Ergen They’re out: Dodgers are dismissed from bankruptcy court
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