Bankruptcy

Why Do I Care if you do your Homework Before You Visit With Me for the First Time?

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

As it happens, it's because I like productive time, and your time is going to be spent more productively if the homework assignments have been done prior to our visit.

Then there's the second reason. At my point in life, I find that surprises are less attractive to me than they were previously in my life and career. And it has been my experience that my clients like surprises, if anything, less than I do!

So being advised, beforehand, on issues including how long the bankruptcy process will take, what you get to keep, what you DON'T get to keep, whether you get to keep using your credit cards, whether you should max out your credit cards (uh, no.), and what you might do (like modifying your mortgage) instead of a filing bankruptcy is good for you to know.

Because all of you are DIFFERENT!

Some of you know a lot about real estate law, because you used to own a mortgage company, or you used to sell real estate.

Some of you know a lot about contracts because you managed those for a publicly traded corporation.

Some of you are acquainted with the criminal justice system because you're Irish, and you know how to celebrate St. Patrick's Day the right way! And isn't it a shame what the bloody British are doing to us all? (note: at this point, I appear to have ancestors on both sides of most of the big conflicts of the last several thousand years, and what my Cherokee ancestors did to my English ancestors, and what my English ancestors did to my Scottish ancestors, and what my Viking ancestors did to my Irish ancestors at Lindisfarne on June 8, 793 Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi all gives me a certain odd perspective on history).

Some of you have lost a relative, and have some idea how the assets of decedents is distributed; or you've lost a marriage, and know about the family law system in Arizona or elsewhere.

Some of you know nothing at all about the law in any respect, because it's never knocked on your door and said howdy before, at least until the notice of trustee's sale. Or being served with that $432,743 lawsuit!

And we have limited time together!

Because we have limited time to talk, the world being what it is, it's important that you know what you need to know.

And that you know what you don't know. Did you understand that sentence? I didn't!

For instance, you may really, really need to know what happens if you repay a debt to your 401(k) prior to filing.

Well, if I'm still trying to figure out whether your car will pass the exemption limit in Arizona, we may not have time to get to that question! And if you didn't do your homework before you came in to see me, we may still be struggling with the value of the car and the amount of the lien on the car!

Spare me! Spare you! Spare ribs!

Or if you paid a $200,000 preference to dad eleven months ago, and I'm trying to tease the amount of your unsecured debt out of you instead of being able to focus on the important stuff, because YOU DIDN'T DO YOUR HOMEWORK, that's...gosh, that's sub-optimal!

And you guys don't want to be up to your necks in sub-optimal, do you?

Isn't that the reason you decided to come in and visit in the first place?

NOTHING HERE CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12. FIND AN ARIZONA BANKRUPTCY LAWYER WHO IS BOARD CERTIFIED IN BANKRUPTCY LAW, AV RATED, AVVO 10 RATED, ON SUPERLAWYERS, OR JUST VERY EXPERIENCED AND A FORMER CHAIR OF SOME BANKRUPTCY SECTION OR COMMITTEE. NOTHING HERE MAY BE USED AS LEGAL ADVICE IN CONNECTION WITH ANY BANKRUPTCY, WHETHER THAT BANKRUPTCY IS IN PHOENIX, GLENDALE, TEMPE, MESA, SCOTTSDALE, OR ANYWHERE ELSE.

Full post as published by Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog on June 19, 2009 (boomark / email).