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Bankruptcy

Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

The perspective of one Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney on insolvency during a depression.
By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

Post Frequency: 2.4/day

Last Entry: March 31, 2011 at 10:42:02

You Can Keep It ALL When You File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Arizona!

Posted on December 30, 2010
You just have to buy it back! No biggie. It becomes a negotiation issue, and only happens in about three per cent of all Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases filed in Arizona, because the other ninety-seven per cent are "no-asset" cases, which means that all of the assets in the case were exempt, over-encumbered, or otherwise worthless, or subject to the "secret exemption" that I've discussed at length elsewhere in this bankruptcy blog...

The Ol' Two-Step in Bankruptcy Cases in Arizona!

Posted on December 30, 2010
Once upon a time the concept of the "Chapter 20" was born. That was, in general, a combination of a Chapter 7, to get the debtor to the debt level required for a Chapter 13, followed by a Chapter 13! Note that the required intervals between Chapter 7 cases and Chapter 13 cases were increased by the Barf Act...

Perhaps It Doesn't Make Sense to Fight About Your Computer, After All!

Posted on December 29, 2010
My loyal readers know that I'm unconvinced about the new approach taken by some Arizona bankruptcy trustees on the Arizona tool of the trade exemption as it relates to computers. But I ran across this video about Blackberries, Apples and Windows when I was reading a fine business blog by Nancy Rapoport, and it made me think...

Eeeeek! She Told You WHAT ??????? EEEEEEEEEK Twice!!

Posted on December 29, 2010
So then he told me that he had already filed a bankruptcy before he came to see me. With a docu-prep, who is forbidden to give legal advice, instead of an Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer. Okay, people do funny things sometimes, for any number of reasons...

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Read This Blog, and Avoid Bankruptcy! Here's Where to Go!

Posted on December 28, 2010
And I Even Built a Blog to Help You Avoid Filing a Bankruptcy! It may be counter-intuitive, but I'd be just as happy if you didn't need to file a bankruptcy! And when I was listing my blogs recently, I forgot one, and that's the one that's designed to help you avoid a bankruptcy filing...

Making Bankruptcy Simple in Arizona

Posted on December 28, 2010
Now, just so you know, I've been working to make bankruptcy simple for my clients for about thirty years. It's not as easy as you might think. While at some levels, bankruptcy is simple, at some levels it's...not. Not very simple at all. Because while I can say that bankruptcy is a Federal Remedy, and that the Federal Government has exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy relief in Arizona, then I have to talk about the fact that a goofy compromise meant that Arizona was able to "opt-out", so that those filing in Arizona usually don't get to use the Federal Bankruptcy Exemptions located at 11 USC 522...

Arizona Bankruptcy Court Information, Including How to Find the Bankruptcy Court in Arizona, With MAPS, No Less!

Posted on December 27, 2010
The Arizona Bankruptcy Court Website is nothing short of spiffy! It is packed with free information about the bankruptcy process, and answers to frequently asked questions, and educational bankruptcy videos, and everything you could want as a point of initial departure for all of your questions about Arizona Bankruptcy! I have cut and pasted the Phoenix Bankruptcy Court location information below, for my clients and potential Arizona Bankruptcy Filers generally, but you should also go to the horse's mouth to find out if any of the information below has changed...

Yes, You Can Pay 'Em, But You Can't Use That Tax Refund!

Posted on December 26, 2010
Guys, I get a kick out of everybody I get to talk to about bankruptcy law in Arizona. Because everybody is exactly like that joke about the novices who want to smoke while they pray*. So when I tell you that you can do something, that doesn't mean you can do it by an otherwise prohibited technology...

Can I Pay Debts that were Discharged in my Arizona Bankruptcy?

Posted on December 26, 2010
Absolutely! Every now and then people will talk to me about bankruptcy (actually, people usually talk to me about bankruptcy several times a day, but that's a different story) and become increasingly agitated, asking more and more questions about the Bankruptcy Discharge in a Chapter 7...

Here's Your Christmas Present, From this Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney!

Posted on December 23, 2010
Apparently I've missed something while I practiced bankruptcy law in my office in Phoenix. The last time it happened, I stumbled across a singer named Amy Winehouse singing about a refusal to go to rehab, and I was pleased that I'd discovered such an unusual, esoteric, unknown, far-out and funky singer; when I told my daughter that I'd discovered somebody named "Amy Winehouse", she laughed at me...

Is Bankruptcy on Your Bucket List?

Posted on December 22, 2010
Some kids grow up and say they want to be an astronaut; that's ambitious! Some kids grow up and say they want to be a firefighter, or a policeman. That's heroic and admirable! Some kids grow up and say they want to be a bankrupt. Oh, wait! They don't! See, nobody thinks about bankruptcy when they're a kid, because bankruptcy only becomes a necessity when things get fairly adult...

Curses! Outsourced Again!

Posted on December 21, 2010
The Faithful Readers of this Simple Back-Country Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer will recall that one of my favorite TV Shows this season is called Outsourced. It's funny, clever, well-written, well-acted, and overall a good piece of family fun. It makes me laugh until tears run down my face...

Would You Like a PDF with the Entire U.S. Bankruptcy Code for Your Kindle, or Your Laptop? Well, Ho, Ho, Ho!

Posted on December 21, 2010
Just jingle your merry sleigh over to my Arizona Bankruptcy Resources Blog and enjoy! And since it also links you to the excellent Bankruptcy Blog called "Credit Slips", you're getting two Christmas Bankruptcy Gifts in One! So rejoice! And a Merry, Merry Christmas to you all!NOTHING IN THIS BANKRUPTCY BLOG CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12...

Hey, Give Steve and Sean a Break, Right? Be Nice on the Phone, and Call the Office Yourself!

Posted on December 21, 2010
During the course of the day, a lot of people call our bankruptcy law office. They apparently like either my experience (because I'm old) as a bankruptcy lawyer, or my credentials, or more likely they liked the pictures of Nina the Unpronounceable, and Heidi, the Bankruptcy Angel...

Waive Good-bye to Your Tax Refund if you File Bankruptcy Before You Get It and Spend It!

Posted on December 21, 2010
I've written often in the past about tax refunds. They are one of those things that makes the timing of a bankruptcy a little tricky. Now, some folks are easy to fix with a bankruptcy in Arizona, because some folks are lucky. They have a lot of debt, they stop making payments, and their creditors promptly take a nap! With our lucky bankruptcy clients, we can tinker with the filing date of their bankruptcy, and wait until the debtor has had time to receive their tax refund, and spend it on food and mortgage and car payment and similar items prior to filing the bankruptcy...

How To Guarantee a Bankruptcy for Your Small Business!

Posted on December 20, 2010
Let's suppose you have a small business and it's been around for twenty years, and recently you've noticed that your sales have dropped. By half or three quarters! One possible reason for the recent, massive drop in business is that the Eight Hundred Pound Gorilla of online marketing, Google, has changed it's algorithm, which is the way it sorts websites and presents them to customers who want to buy your goods and services...

So, How's that Medical Marijuana Project Going?

Posted on December 19, 2010
I can't help laughing about it; I have to believe that the most profitable start-ups this year are going to be medical marijuana dispensaries. I don't know why I find it so funny, but the idea that there will be an industry built on a weed just makes me laugh until my sides hurt! On the other hand, I shouldn't laugh that much; tobacco did a lot for the Southern economy...

Free Online Retirement Calculator to help you Decide to File Bankruptcy!

Posted on December 19, 2010
I have told you that the reason some people file bankruptcy is that they woke up one morning and said, "If I keep doing what I'm doing, I'll keep getting what I'm getting." That's called "a moment of clarity"; they realized that they would be making minimum payments on credit card debt, or other debt, until they died, and never get to retire! Now, working three jobs and keeping none of the dough you get paid isn't the end of the world; you're on the right side of the grass, after all...

"But the Debt Was Included in the Bankruptcy!" Well, Yeah. But.

Posted on December 18, 2010
Okay, let's go over it again. A properly perfected lien (like a mortgage, a lien on your car, or a judgment line on real property) will survive a bankruptcy discharge. Your personal liability for most of those liens does vanish when you get your discharge, but the lien does not! Now, in some cases, you can scrape off a judgment lien on a homestead by filing appropriate pleadings...

Bankruptcy: The BEST Christmas Present. For Your Family!

Posted on December 16, 2010
Loyal readers know that what makes me sadder than anything else is meeting lovely people who have spent every single penny of their retirement savings, pulled all of the equity out of their lovely homes, and lived on cat food, in a doomed and futile effort to pay their overwhelming debt...

The Best Way to Reduce Your Bankruptcy Suffering in Arizona!

Posted on December 15, 2010
I get to see more human suffering than any other professional except an oncologist, and that makes me sad. That's because much of the suffering that happens in conjunction with a bankruptcy is self-inflicted. And that's because overwhelming debt is...

bkassets.com is a Site Used to Sell Your Stuff! If You File a Bankruptcy, That Is!

Posted on December 14, 2010
How does a bankruptcy trustee in a Chapter 7 Case in the District of Arizona sell stuff that is not exempt, and not worthless, and not over-encumbered? Note: don't panic. As I've pointed out often, the vast majority of cases are "no-asset" cases, where the trustee does not take away any of your stuff! But in some cases that have to be filed quickly, or cases that have been prepared by non-lawyers (who can't give legal advice, and so are really typing services) or bankruptcy mills, or bankruptcy beginners, there may be a lot of non-exempt assets...

Can't People Afford FOOD Anymore? A&P Files Bankruptcy!

Posted on December 14, 2010
You have to figure that it's a depression if people can't pay to deal with their heart disease. But I consider it a very frightening sign of the times when people are buying so much less food that gigantic grocery chains file bankruptcy.NOTHING IN THIS BANKRUPTCY BLOG CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12...

Why Is a Retirement Calculator Like a Bankruptcy Resource?

Posted on December 14, 2010
Doctors tend to retire rich, and the reason has little to do with their incomes (although, since penicillin, doctors in the United States have seen a remarkable increase in their incomes; and that may change very soon, which is sad). But the key to a doctor's retirement success is simple; it's the doctor's time horizon that is his secret weapon...

Are There Gifts Under the Bankruptcy Decision Tree?

Posted on December 12, 2010
Well, maybe. There are only two things you really want to get out of your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case, generally. You want to keep your stuff (that is, you want your list of exempt property to encompass all your assets, to the extent possible under the exemption statutes in Arizona, assuming that you file here and are entitled to use the AZ exemptions in your bankruptcy case)...

A Credit Card Payoff Calculator for those Contemplating Bankruptcy in Arizona

Posted on December 12, 2010
You might as well know whether it will be six hundred years before you pay off your credit cards at your current rate. So here's a link to a free online credit card payoff calculator, and maybe that will be useful to you! If your current plan isn't working, it is probably a good idea to consider alternatives...

So, Who Is this Jane Doe and Exactly What is She to You, Honey?

Posted on December 11, 2010
When folks come to see me, they sometimes bring unresolved conflicts between them into my office. Sometimes wifie is mad at hubby for letting a business die, or getting fired; or vice-versa. Every now and then, one spouse has a gambling problem, an alcohol addiction, or a shopping addiction; and I can feel a little friction that's built up between them because the problem forced the couple to file a bankruptcy...

Before You Lease a New House, Check the Crime Rates!

Posted on December 11, 2010
Sometimes people decide that, as a part of their new post-Chapter 7 Bankruptcy retirement plan, they'll move out of their current house, which has a payment of $5,000 a month. And is a quarter of a million dollars underwater. If they only have one mortgage, that may be something they can just walk away from, because of the Arizona Anti-Deficiency Statute; although you probably want to be certain before you walk away from a big ol' debt like that! You would also want to be certain that you don't need that $5,000 per month mortgage payment to pass the dreaded Means Test in Arizona, prior to filing a bankruptcy in Arizona! But I digress...

"It's Our Only Source of Income!"

Posted on December 10, 2010
Sometimes it makes me sad when people make up stories to make themselves feel better. Bankruptcy myths, for instance. For instance, some people believe that if a house is a "homestead" in Arizona, they get to keep it without making payments on the mortgage...

Better to Be Lucky than Smart, Part II of Ten Million: Crocodiles and Wildebeest

Posted on December 10, 2010
Have you every watched The Nature Channel? If so, you've seen the Wildebeest and Crocodile Show. Think of a debtor in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy as the wildebeest, and the trustee as the crocodile. In Africa, the wildebeest all get together and run like crazy across the river, which they know darn well is swarming with crocodiles...

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