Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog: Bankruptcy

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Bankruptcy Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

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

So, How About that National Debt Consolidation Plan, Run by the Federal Government?

Posted on June 30, 2010
Uh, well. No.There isn't any. A smart, board certified bankruptcy lawyer in Texas has blogged about the fact that there is no federally run debt-consolidation plan run under the auspices of the government. And here's his post discussing that very point!NOTHING HERE CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12...

IF You Get a Discharge of Your Tuition, The School Can't Refuse to Issue a Transcript!

Posted on June 29, 2010
I ran into an casenote about a student who failed to pay some tuition, which was discharged in a bankruptcy. The school had threatened to withhold a transcript if the student failed to pay the tuition. And after the discharge the school made good on that threat...

Do Not, I Repeat, Do Not, Wait Until They Have a Judgment Against You to Seek Help from an Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney!

Posted on June 29, 2010
I've said it before, and clearly I didn't say it loudly enough: don't let somebody take a judgment against you before you go to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer in Arizona.I know all about deer-in-the-headlights syndrome, and I understand depression. I know that you are confused and suffering, and I can't help that until you drop in to talk...

Municipal Bankruptcy Cases: Threat or Menace? or If It's Good Enough for a City, Bankruptcy May be Looking Better for You!

Posted on June 29, 2010
Ordinary people who work all day and all night and drop exhausted into their beds cry in my office because they can't repay their credit card debt, no matter how hard they try.And after they suffer through meeting with me, they get to suffer through filling out forms designed by committees, and a first meeting of creditors, and hopefully are rewarded with a discharge in bankruptcy...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

The Government, Government Spending, and this Depression

Posted on June 29, 2010
Some folks think that accelerated government spending will pull the United States out of this depression. Some folks disagree, and believe that only lower taxes and less regulation will permit small business to do what small business does best: create new jobs...

If You Need to File a Bankruptcy, You Need to File a Bankruptcy; But Many Do Not.

Posted on June 28, 2010
There are a few interesting theories floating around the bankruptcy universe these days. One is the idea that many people who would benefit from filing a bankruptcy are not doing so. And that's certainly true, because only the folks who want a root canal for fun are enthusiastic about filing a Chapter 7 in Arizona...

Anti-Deficiency Statutes In Arizona; Do They Contribute to Strategic Defaults?

Posted on June 27, 2010
The concept of the strategic default is kind of silly. Every economic action by an economically rational individual is "strategic" unless they've had too many Martinis. Which is part of the Las Vegas strategic approach to milking the wallets of people at the slots...

What If We Win the Lottery After We File our Bankruptcy?

Posted on June 26, 2010
Well, let's work our way through this. Did you own the lottery ticket prior to filing? Well, you shoulda listed it in your bankruptcy schedules. And it, and the winnings, belong to your bankruptcy trustee who will take the winnings, use them to pay your creditors in full, including penalties and interest and maybe legal fees, and then you'll get the rest, residue and remainder...

Strategic Defaults on Mortgages: We're From the Government and We're Here to Help...No, wait!

Posted on June 26, 2010
We have a free-market system here in the United States. Sorta. When a command economy is in charge of things, it responds slowly and awkwardly to events and needs to grab other people's money on a regular and increasing basis to function: recall the Soviet Union, for instance...

So How Bad Are Things in the Economic World? Don't Ask!

Posted on June 25, 2010
I was at a seminar last night and talked after the class to a couple of very smart lawyers who are buddies of mine.The talk turned, as it always does, to the economy and it's effect on our various practices. One of my buddies did a lot of Chapter 13 cases at one point, and he's tapered off, for two reasons...

Don't Wait Too Long, Right? Changed Circumstances Can Change Your Ability to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy! Don't Shoot Yourself in the Means Test!

Posted on June 25, 2010
I had intended to write about this for some time. Look, if you go see a doctor about the little bump on your elbow, and he says, "No problem, we see these a lot; make an appointment and we'll do it in the office", you really ought to make an appointment soon to see the doc and get it taken off...

Some Days It's Good to be the Bankruptcy Attorney!

Posted on June 24, 2010
Today I got a visit from a client who has gotten past filling out the forms on our online forms and pressing send. She's also gotten past the pre-filing jitters and the post-filing jitters. She's survived her first meeting of creditors. And she's getting a discharge of about a million dollars worth of debt...

Ugly Bankruptcy Tutorial Coming Soon?

Posted on June 23, 2010
There is apparently a reality tv show involving a nice woman named Teresa Giudice. And Teresa and her husband have, according to this article, filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case. There is a suggestion in the article about the bankruptcy that some of the information in the bankruptcy schedules may not be entirely accurate, especially in relation to the average amount spent on clothing...

Exhaust your Options Before Bankruptcy, Sure, But Not Your Savings! When to Talk to A Bankruptcy Attorney, Before or After all your Savings are Gone?

Posted on June 22, 2010
There are various different ways to deal with debt issues, and they sometimes work. Some folks can negotiate some deals with some creditors. I have not found commercial non-lawyer negotiation companies that consistently provide good results to clients, so I don't refer to any at this time; but if I find one that provides a consistent good outcome as an alternative to filing a bankruptcy, I'll certainly pass that information along...

You Are Not Alone! For that Matter, Neither Am I!

Posted on June 22, 2010
Here's the deal: there are an awful lot of bankruptcy cases being filed in Arizona, and in the United States generally. And I have, from time to time, pointed out that entire cities may be filing bankruptcy cases in the near future. Now, when you are buried in debt, and creditors are harassing you night and day (like they do), and your house is scheduled for a trustee's sale in two months, you are likely to feel like you're in this depression all alone, and by yourself...

Sitting Below the Salt; Who Is Judgment-Proof and Need Not File Bankruptcy?

Posted on June 22, 2010
Pity the poor creditor.Okay, don't pity him, but understand him.It's not so easy to collect debt during a depression.Which is why you so often get to see banks, after they have charged off a debt, sell the paper evidencing the debt to somebody who isn't a bank, and those folks sell again, and then those folks try to collect the debt...

If Donald Trump Believes that Bankruptcy Does Not involve Shame, Should You?

Posted on June 21, 2010
There's a box of tissues on my desk, because some of my debtor clients have gone through the dark night of the soul before they come in to visit me for the first time.And the first time they see me, they are sometimes, although certainly not always, so overcome with emotion that they are remarkably inarticulate, even though they're clearly intelligent...

Is British Petrolium Too Big to go Under? Better Hope So!

Posted on June 20, 2010
This has been an interesting half-decade for insolvency. And this is an interesting article about British Petroleum. On the one hand, it suggests that there is no likelihood of a bankruptcy in BP's future, and then it talks out of the other side of its mouth...

Will Filing a Bankruptcy Affect My Government or Military Security Clearance? Can I Get a Security Clearance if I File a Bankruptcy?

Posted on June 19, 2010
This issue doesn't come up often, but it does crop up from time to time. At a rational level, it would sure seem that a bankruptcy would improve your security clearance with either the government or the military, because you are less likely to succumb to bribes from a foreign power like Communist China if you have no personal liability for debt whatsoever...

Unexpected Side Effects of the Depression in the Practice of Law and in Parking Lots

Posted on June 18, 2010
Recently I had lunch at Baby Kay's Cajun Kitchen with a buddy who handles a fair number of personal injury cases. They told me that their experience with personal injury clients had changed dramatically during this depression. Where before the depression, folks would come in to be educated about the range of probable recoveries in their personal injury case by an experienced lawyer, now all they were seeing were folks who had been in a trivial fender-bender who were darned and determined to get a million dollars out of the deal...

When Cities File Bankruptcy: Here's the Skivvy.

Posted on June 18, 2010
Cities get to file bankruptcy, sometimes, and under certain conditions. They have to say "Mother, may I?" to the state in which they sit. Those filings are few and far between, usually.I have talked recently about cities that are discussing filing bankruptcy cases, and therefore decided to show you the law that applies...

Don't Use Your Credit Cards Within 90 Days of Filing Your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Arizona!

Posted on June 18, 2010
Unless, of course, you don't care if you have to pay them back! I have discussed at length the consequences of credit card use within 90 days of filing elsewhere. The legal consequence is simple; there is a presumption that the credit card debt incurred during the period within 90 days of filing is not dischargeable...

Another Industry Where Bankruptcy Will Happen: Newspapers!

Posted on June 17, 2010
We're about to have a bundle of newspaper companies filing bankruptcy cases, and the reasons are pretty simple.Even if there were no other issue, the simple fact is that all businesses are off about 50% in revenues from the period prior to this depression...

Bankruptcy Stinks! And in this Case, Literally!

Posted on June 17, 2010
I read an article about a Chapter 11 for a very small business that ended the way most Chapter 11s for small businesses end. With a special add-on.Sadly, the bankruptcy toolbox is a little light on relief for small businesses, simply because a Chapter 11 is kind of like a computer program that has adequate capacity to handle all the transactions and accounting and reporting for a publicly traded business doing several billion dollars a year...

Technology Giveth, and Technology Taketh Away!

Posted on June 16, 2010
What kind of business do you work for, or what kind of business do you own?Shifts in technology have worked shifts in buying patterns, and that has closed many businesses, and opened areas of opportunity for others.For instance, a remarkably successful business grew up around the renting of video tapes (Do you remember video tapes? Do you remember competition between different formats of video tapes? Just checking...

Do You Think Voters Are Smart, or Stupid? If Stupid, Bankruptcy Looms for Cities With Unfunded Liabilities!

Posted on June 16, 2010
I have a prejudice, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I think when voters get decent-quality information, they are able to make decent-quality decisions. But many disagree with me, and I certainly could be wrong. And if I'm right, voters will simply vote for politicians who say things like, "This city is broke, and we gotta fix it...

A Creative Approach to Dealing with HOA Dues During the Gap Period!

Posted on June 16, 2010
Bankruptcy lawyers are, in general, a pretty good bunch.It's a highly complex, technical area of law, and practitioners tend to share their knowledge because, well, they like it when justice is done!Mind you, justice probably means different things to creditor attorneys and debtor attorneys...

Even Multi-Level Marketing Businesses Are Folding!

Posted on June 15, 2010
I've never been a big fan of multi-level marketing systems. I've just never known anybody who made a lot of money with them on a personal basis. I've known people who worked very, very hard to make money with them, and who invested tons of money in products that they couldn't thereafter sell...

New Bankruptcy Trustees, New Rules!

Posted on June 14, 2010
The avalanche of Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings has has some side effects. One is that two new trustees have joined the panel of trustees in the District of Arizona.And so far, I like 'em a lot. At some points in the past, some new trustees have needed a break-in period to rub off some of the new...

You're Still in Good Company in Bankruptcy in Arizona, Whether You're a Small Business or an Individual

Posted on June 14, 2010
The bankruptcy shame factor continues to operate, and I try to be sensitive to it. Sometimes I'm surprised; a couple of weeks ago a very pleasant young lady said, "Oh, no. I'm not frightened at the prospect of a bankruptcy. A bankruptcy isn't scary. Being called and foreclosed and sued...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

Attorney Dilnaz Saleem To Speak On Immigration
Kraft Associates' immigration lawyer Dilnaz Saleem will be making ...

New York Insurance Cases--Do You Need A Private Attorney?
Our White Plains, New York office gets numerous calls and e-mails ...

Case Law Development: Attorney for Child May Not Act as GAL
The confusion between the status of attorney for the child and gua...

Choosing A Family Law Attorney
Help with choosing the right attorney.

New Baptist Covenant Blog
Last week, I pointed to the New Baptist Convenant website, now onl...