Bankruptcy

Do Mortage Modifications EVER Work?

Posted on March 31, 2011
Well, sometimes. But you might have better odds of a successful result in Vegas. In general, I hear the following things from my clients when they come to visit: the mortgage company lost my paperwork three times, the process took a full year before they turned me down (or approved me), and I was a success in my mortgage modification but they raised the payment by $40 dollars a month...

Robert Frank, in WSJ, Tells Story of Taxing the Rich All the Way to State Bankruptcy

Posted on March 31, 2011
Robert Frank has written a remarkable article in the Wall Street Journal.  He points out that a state like California, which has a strongly progressive tax rate, received almost half its tax revenues from the top 1% of earners in that lovely state...

A Non-Bankruptcy Joke; on the Other Hand, a Plot Contingency Is A Homeless Guy!

Posted on March 30, 2011
Normally, I put bankruptcy jokes in this blog when I find them.  But this one surprised me when I made it to the end of the joke, and I figured that if there was a penniless, homeless guy in the joke (as a plot contingency; there's nothing funny about being homeless, by the way), I could pass it off as sort of an insolvency-related joke...

Can You Help Me Reaffirm on an Unsecured Debt?

Posted on March 30, 2011
Well, I can. But I won't! Because in virtually all bankruptcy cases in Arizona, there's no reason in the world to reaffirm on an unsecured debt. "But I owe the money to Mom, my Doctor, my Priest, my Pusher, my Guru, my Chiro....." Great! List them on your bankruptcy schedules, as you must...

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Home Values Dropping? Well, Yeah. And Bankruptcy Cases in Arizona Continue.

Posted on March 30, 2011
Let's give this only a moment of thought. In an ordinary year, the United States will see about 100,000 mortgage foreclosures and trustee's sales. Last year, we saw more than a million, and this year we're on track for about 1.4 million. That means we'll see a bunch of houses owned by banks, and a bunch of empty houses, and a bunch of people who can't buy a new house for a couple of years because they filed a bankruptcy...

Will Bankrupt Entrepreneurs Get into Medical Marijuana Business in AZ?

Posted on March 29, 2011
A lot of people who filed bankruptcy cases over the last five years in Arizona were previously business owners. They owned mortgage companies, they owned construction companies, they owned restaurants, and they owned hotels. And when a depression hits, people don't spend money on anything upon which they can defer spending...

How to Be a Millionare the Easy Way; But You Need to Be 25 Years Old! Read Johnathan Burton on MarketWatch.

Posted on March 29, 2011
There's a nice MarketWatch article by Johnathan Burton, and it discusses the easiest, most predictable way to become a millionare. Of course, it works best if you start when you're 25, because then your temporal lever is the longest you can make it. On the other hand, if somebody has hair that's the correct color, there's a 50/50 chance that their earning potential is at it's highest; there's also a 50/50 chance that they have a walker and an oxygen bottle, but that's a story for a different blog...

New Mortgage Lending Rules Unveiled; Do You Think They'll Do Any Good?

Posted on March 29, 2011
There's a nice article in the Wall Street Journal about new proposed mortgage lending rules. Do you think they'll do any good? I don't. I'm old enough (my hair is finally the right color, you know?) that I've now seen it all, twice. Once I saw land prices in Arizona drop into the basement when the tax laws in the United States were changed without a grandfather clause; a few decades ago...

How To Get Jobs Back in Arizona, and Will New Jobs Reduces Bankruptcy Cases in Arizona?

Posted on March 28, 2011
Okay, there's been a discussion of the reasons that businesses aren't hiring in Arizona on KTAR. And uncertainty caused by government regulation is high on that list, which doesn't surprise me much. What may surprise you is that when a Tsunami of new jobs hits Arizona, which will happen in two to six years, there will be a corresponding increase in the number of consumer bankruptcy filings...

An Explanation of Reaffirmation in Bankruptcy Cases, and Why You DON'T WANT the Judge to Approve the Reaffirmation Agreement on Your Car

Posted on March 28, 2011
Reaffirmations are probably the single most confusing area in consumer bankruptcy law; and that's because the best technique for the debtor, if the debtor wants to keep a car that has a lien, is to check the box in your schedules that says you want to reaffirm, sign the reaffirmation agreement, and ship it back to the lender, and then the debtor appears in Court and hopes that the Judge DOES NOT approve the reaffirmation agreement...

A Depression is Bad for Gifts. And Gift Baskets; Harry and David Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Posted on March 28, 2011
Harry and David, which sells gift baskets of fruits and nuts, will be filing a Chapter 11. Gifting suffers during a Depression.NOTHING IN THIS BANKRUPTCY BLOG CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12. FIND AN ARIZONA BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY WHO IS BOARD CERTIFIED IN BANKRUPTCY LAW, AV RATED, AVVO 10, ON SUPERLAWYERS, OR JUST VERY EXPERIENCED AND A FORMER CHAIR OF SOME BANKRUPTCY THINGIE...

Do I Have to Talk to a Salesman Before I Talk to a Bankruptcy Attorney in Arizona?

Posted on March 27, 2011
Well, no. We don't have a salesman. I'm not just old, I'm old-fashioned. And I don't think a salesman has any place in a law office. I know perfectly well that the large bankruptcy mills and the small offshoots of the largest bankruptcy mills all use salesmen, and until the salesman works to "close" you, you don't get to talk to a bankruptcy attorney...

Hey, We're Only 59 Million Negative This Year! That's an Improvement, Right?

Posted on March 26, 2011
I get a kick out of it when I see any politicians spin things, and spinning is apparently what all politicians do. Today I was just laughing; if private businesses operated according to the same standards that political entities do, we'd all be starving...

The Quickest, Easiest Way to Lose a Discharge in a Bankruptcy Case in Arizona!

Posted on March 25, 2011
The 2005 Amendments to the Bankruptcy Code were a pain in the tuckus. And everyplace else, by the way. Today's bankruptcy topic is very, very simple: what's the easiest way to go through all the pain of assembling information, filing a bankruptcy case, attending the first meeting of creditors, and then NOT getting a discharge? Well, that would be failing to take your mandatory second waste-of-time consumer education class...

So How Much Is A Super Bowl Ring Really Worth?

Posted on March 25, 2011
You have to wonder about a bunch of guys who'd take away a guy's last Super Bowl Ring, just because he defaulted on a loan and filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. But such brutal lenders exist. And I was at first inclined to say that they were too intense in their collection efforts against Charlie Bach, but then I read somewhere that Super Bowl Rings were worth twenty thousand dollars or more! Then I read an article suggesting that Super Bowl Rings were worth more like five thousand dollars, and it was a very well informed article...

Be Careful What You Wish For: A Lien Release and "Paid in Full" Notification

Posted on March 23, 2011
A bank recently sent one of my prospective clients something kinky. A lien release, and forgiveness of the debt. Roughly a hundred thousand dollars in debt on a second mortgage. It was a second mortgage which was completely underwater, and the client is going to be filing a bankruptcy in any case, because of a lot of additional unsecured debt...

Extreme Makeover for a Construction Company

Posted on March 22, 2011
There's a construction company called MyddletonParker Builders LLC which just recently filed bankruptcy; you know it because of the pretty house remodel done on the television show "Extreme Makeover." According to one news article, there are personal bankruptcy filings involved, which doesn't surprise me a bit...

The Borders Bankruptcy Unfolds Like a Rose: 500 Million Dollar Loan Approved by Bankruptcy Court

Posted on March 22, 2011
Don't you wish you could get a 500 million dollar loan by asking nicely? In a large Chapter 11 Case, the Debtor and Debtor-in-Possession have to play "Mother May I" to get almost anything done at first. In fact, there are seminars for lawyers on subjects as narrow and specific as "First Day Orders" in a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case...

Arizona Bankruptcy Information Top Ten Blogposts!

Posted on March 20, 2011
This week is interesting; most of my readers are going for the oldies and goodies. And that's a good thing, because the most valuable fundamental bankruptcy information is probably here: Ten Top Arizona Bankruptcy Information Posts! Your Top Ten Bankruptcy Questions, Answered!There are some questions that come up with great frequency...

Bankruptcy and Spring Break in Arizona!

Posted on March 19, 2011
Some days we get a few calls and emails from people who are considering filing a bankruptcy in Arizona. Some days we get a lot of calls. Some days my poor phone guy is hanging on by his fingernails, trying desperately to get to all the folks who called to talk to a Phoenix, AZ Bankruptcy Attorney...

St. Patrick's Day Not So Lucky For the Irish This Year!

Posted on March 18, 2011
The economy of Ireland is near bankruptcy, so the number of good-will ambassadors traveling around the world to promote Ireland on St. Patrick's Day has been curtailed. Ireland is, as always, drenched in rain, but more drenched in debt, leading to a modern diaspora for the Irish seeking jobs...

What Does The Trustee Do During the Four or Five Years that the Chapter 7 is Being Administered?

Posted on March 17, 2011
Everybody gets it that a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee in Arizona works for the life of the case; he supports or objects to the confirmation of the Chapter 13 Plan, he reviews the terms of the plan to determine whether it meets the requirements of the Code, and monitors the payments during the (usually) five years of the Plan...

Honolulu Symphony Orchestra is a Sad Poster Child for Bankruptcy Under Chapter 11...No, Chapter 7!

Posted on March 15, 2011
The Honolulu Symphony Orchestra is the oldest symphony orchestra west of the Rocky Mountains. And that's sort of a big deal. The cultural heritage that we own, as part of our inheritance from Western Europe, is a wonderful thing. Whether it's a reminder that the Irish saved civilization, or the way that Italy produced the most beautiful paintings that the world has ever seen...

The Top Ten All-Time Most Popular Posts in My Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

Posted on March 14, 2011
And heeeeeeeeeere they are! Enjoy! Your Top Ten Bankruptcy Questions, Answered!There are some questions that come up with great frequency. I've posted blog entries to address some of those, and the most frequently asked... Bankruptcy Arizona: How Do I Fill Out the Bankruptcy Schedules, Bankruptcy Statements, and Bankruptcy Lists: How Do I Fill Out the Forms?This is designed to help my clients fill information into their forms...

Christy's Pub Chapter 11; Not the Luck of the Irish!

Posted on March 13, 2011
Chapter 11 cases are the glamor pusses of the bankruptcy world. Here's the ugly news: they often fail. They often fail prior to confirmation, and then a lot of 'em fail after confirmation. For instance, if you wanted to go to Christy's Pub for St. Patrick's, you will be sadly disappointed...

Do I Have to List All My Assets in My Bankruptcy Case? Naaaaaahhhhh!

Posted on March 11, 2011
No, you absotively do not have to list all your assets! Nosiree! Of course, the consequences will involve pajamas. With stripes. p.s. this is called irony, and sometimes it's call "I'm a smart alec." OF COURSE, YOU HAVE TO LIST ALL YOUR ASSETS! AND DO NOT ASK THE QUESTION, "HOW WILL THEY KNOW I HAVE THIS ASSET?" It leads you to unproductive thought patterns...

Suffered Enough? Okay, Then We'll File Your Bankruptcy! And How About those Bad Banks?

Posted on March 11, 2011
I've been talking to a lot of folks recently who I've seen before. Previously, they'd considered bankruptcy, or contemplated bankruptcy, or planned to file bankruptcy, or thought about bankruptcy. And now they've reached threshold. They've suffered enough...

The Homestead Exemption in Arizona: Do You Want It, or What?

Posted on March 09, 2011
The Arizona Homestead Exemption is a useful exemption for pre-bankruptcy planning in Arizona. But you have to qualify for the exemption before pre-bankruptcy planning even becomes an issue, right? So that means you have to qualify for the use of the Arizona Bankruptcy Exemptions, right? So you'll want to read this article by the Arizona State Senate about the homestead law in Az...

Illegal, Unethical Mortgage Modification Practices, and a Proposed Cure!

Posted on March 09, 2011
This is a nice, impassioned article about the rotten, illegal, unethical and fattening practices in mortgage modification these days. I like it when other people let their blood pressure go up, so I don't have to! I see a lot of mortgage foreclosures these days, because a lot of folks realize that their houses are no longer homes: they're just vacuum cleaners for their wallets...

Unemployed Workers Need Not Apply Investigation

Posted on March 09, 2011
There's an investigation ongoing into the Unemployed Need Not Apply notations. How long do you think it will take until that bears fruit? I figure that if no action is taken on that issue for another two to six years, unemployment won't be a problem anymore!NOTHING IN THIS BANKRUPTCY BLOG CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12...

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