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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

Lawsuits in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases

Posted on June 13, 2010
A bankruptcy is like a cake dome, one of those glass things that your mother put over a cake to keep it fresh after it was cut.Like you were going to give it a chance to get stale.But a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is also like a probate estate. An estate is created when a decedent becomes a decedent, or when a debtor files and becomes a debtor; there is a Court with jurisdiction over the Estate, and the Court, with the help of a fiduciary, is ultimately going to decide who is going to get paid from and who is going to pay money into the estate...

Garnishments and Bankruptcy

Posted on June 13, 2010
I just read a nice post about garnishments and bankruptcy by Johnathan Alper of Orlando in the Florida Bankruptcy Blog.Something I liked about the article was the intellectual honesty. He points out that he's "pretty sure" that a particular garnishment was a violation of the automatic stay...

When People Have Never Run a Business, They Think a Business Failure Involves a Crook

Posted on June 13, 2010
Businesses do well, attract competition, and either do well or fail.And businesses that fail do so for a spectrum of reasons. But seldom is a business failure a result of fraud, or a business owner who did bad things and got rich. It happens sometimes, but it is a massive exception...

I'm From the IRS and I'm Here to Help You!

Posted on June 12, 2010
If that doesn't scare you out of your socks, nothing will.However, the IRS has recently announced that it's currently kinder and gentler, and I certainly hope so.Such an approach would be economically rational during a depression where about 20 per cent of the population is out of work...

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A NEW Question at the First Meetings of Creditors in Arizona!

Posted on June 11, 2010
Recently at First Meetings of Creditors at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona in Phoenix, I've heard something new. A new question from the trustees, to be specific. The question follows: "Are the copies of tax returns true and correct copies of tax returns that you actually filed with the IRS and the State of Arizona?" I was astonished...

The Complete Text of Hamilton v. Lanning, the Supreme Court Case that Defines Projected Income

Posted on June 11, 2010
When you read the complete text of Hamilton v. Lanning, the recent Supreme Court case that sets out the reality-based definition of "projected disposable income", you may say, "Of course!", in the way that experienced bankruptcy attorneys would.The result reached by the majority was clearly and obviously the correct result...

A Charge Off Doesn't Mean What You Think! They're Still Going to Sue You!

Posted on June 10, 2010
Every now and then I'm asked whether a debt needs to be listed on the schedules. "I don't think I need to list the bank because they already charged off the debt!" said the debtor, brightly!Turns out that a charge-off is simply an in-bank accounting term for a loan that is a troubled loan and now requires reserving money against the doubtful account...

Am I Eligible to File for Bankruptcy in Arizona? Am I Permitted to File a Chapter 7 or 13 or 11 Bankruptcy in Arizona?

Posted on June 10, 2010
Back when I started my practice, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, there were darn few limitations on the privilege of filing bankruptcy. There was still a strong perceived stigma associated with bankruptcy, and that kept people from filing. There was exactly zero television advertising by bankruptcy lawyers or debt negotiation companies, and lawyer advertising itself was in its infancy; Bates had just been decided, so now lawyers could advertise, but we did it cautiously because nobody knew the outer limits of ethical advertising, and we wanted to color inside the lines...

The Supreme Court Accurately Decides that Disposable Income is Actually Disposible Income, Not Imaginary Pretend Income

Posted on June 10, 2010
Texas Bankruptcy lawyer and blogger Steve Sather has gotten the jump on this bankruptcy blog competition by posting a good analysis of the recent Supreme Court case that helps define "projected disposable income" for Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan payment purposes...

Exceptions to Discharge: those Pesky HOA Dues! The Bankruptcy Blog Sneers.

Posted on June 10, 2010
One of the changes effected by the BARF Act makes the discharge less valuable for bankruptcy debtors in Arizona, and it hurts people in a random way, regardless of their actions. I don't like seeing people get hurt, and I especially don't like seeing my personal bankruptcy clients suffer, but I can fix some issues, and not others, in the area of personal and small business bankruptcy cases in Arizona...

Bankruptcy FAQs in Arizona, Arizona Bankruptcy FAQs, Frequenly Asked Questions in Bankruptcy Cases in Arizona

Posted on June 10, 2010
There are some frequent asked questions about bankruptcy, or bankruptcy FAQs, whether you are in Arizona or someplace else, and whether you are a simple consumer bankruptcy debtor or a complex bankruptcy consumer debtor (all cases involving professionals are complex, just so you know) or a small business owner thinking about bankruptcy...

Are Consumer Bankruptcy Cases in Arizona Simple or Are They Very Complex?

Posted on June 10, 2010
The answer, of course, is yes. They're both. Two, two, two things in one!It's possible that a consumer bankruptcy can be simple.A debtor who received zero income from any source for the six months prior to filing, who owes five thousand dollars in debt to five different credit card companies, who has not used the credit cards in the 90 days prior to the filing, who is a citizen of the United States and who has been living in Arizona for the two years prior to filing, and who has not filed a bankruptcy under his or any other name or social for eight years, and who owns only a car worth five thousand dollars (high private party sale value, per Blue Book) and his clothes could have a simple bankruptcy case...

So How's the Economy? Well, You Can't Sell Sin, Apparently. Got Your Answer?

Posted on June 09, 2010
Now, some business are hard to run and make a profit. Grocery stores, for instance, have run at a very small profit margin; in addition, that business has been turned into a commodity. There is little perceived difference between one grocery store and another which permits charging a premium price for groceries...

Another Economic Bubble About to Burst; Universities on the Edge

Posted on June 09, 2010
Sometimes you read an article and say, "Yep. That's not complex; that's gonna happen, sure as shootin'". At least, you say that if you're an old Arizona bankruptcy lawyer. I just read a nifty article about the one of the next upcoming economic bubbles...

Apparently, Folks in the UK Look at the US with Some Frequency; You May Not Like What they See in our Economic Prospects

Posted on June 08, 2010
Now, I'm not an economist. I'm simply not smart enough. So I have no clue what it means that job formation is fueled almost exclusively by an army of census workers who will soon be back out of work. And I have exactly zero ability to critique the people who set economic policy in the United States; see sentence number two in the first line...

Do I REALLY Have to List All My Assets, Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge?

Posted on June 08, 2010
When I tell you to list all your assets, it isn't because I dislike you, or I'm not willing to go to bat for you. I do it because it's a fundamental, critical piece of bankruptcy information for you. Failing to disclose assets in your bankruptcy case is not a viable bankruptcy option for you, whether it's in a Chapter 7, or a Chapter 13, or any other Chapter bankruptcy in Arizona...

The Official Bankruptcy Forms, for My Favorite Price!

Posted on June 07, 2010
Back in the good old days (formerly known as "these trying times"), when you hired an Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer, you filled out intake sheets which were then typed by an army of secretaries in the typing pool onto a stack of "flimsys" which had a technological innovation called "carbon paper" between each of the tissue-thin sheets...

Job Creation Cause for Celebration? I Don't Think So. More Bankruptcy Filings in Arizona, I Expect.

Posted on June 07, 2010
Opinions are like White Mercedes in Hollywood, or armpits. So most opinions don't matter a lot.But when people are of the opinion that the economy is getting worse, that suggests several things to this bankruptcy blogger. For one, that means that people will behave as though the economy is getting worse, and will therefore not spend, or spend as little as possible to survive...

Your FAVORITE Official Bankruptcy Form! Property Claimed as Exempt! And the Arizona Exemption Laws! What can You Keep in Your Bankruptcy in Arizona?

Posted on June 07, 2010
When you browse the Official Bankruptcy Forms, you will notice many things. You will see that they have the combination of apparent simplicity, confusing appearance, and difficulty of use that you see in, say, income tax forms. Brought to you by the same sponsor!But one of the Official Forms is close to the heart of every bankruptcy debtor in Arizona who is a human being, as opposed to a corporation or partnership or limited liability company debtor in a bankruptcy case...

"Facts? We don't need no stinkin' facts!" Banks Behaving Badly; It Can Happen! No, Really!

Posted on June 06, 2010
I just read a post on a banking blog that I love. It concerns a Bank of America "system error" that nearly resulted in the theft of a home that had been paid for in full by the homeowner. And the bank tried to swipe it anyway, and when the "paid for in full" part was explained to them, the bank stuck it's fingers in it's ears and said, "La, la, la, I can't HEAR you!"In this particular case, it wasn't an expert bankruptcy attorney that fixed the problem; and that makes sense to me, because you shouldn't be forced to file a bankruptcy case to find a forum to force a Bank to listen to you when you tell the bank that you owe them nothing!Although none of our U...

So, You Think There Will Be More Foreclosures and Trustee's Sales and Bankruptcy Cases in Arizona?

Posted on June 06, 2010
By now I'm scared. I told you that I was scared about the U.S. Debt Clock. Now I've read another result from Rasmussen that scares me just as much:"Fourteen percent (14%) of homeowners expect to miss a mortgage payment in the next six months. This comes at a time when only 55% of homeowners believe their home is currently worth more than the mortgage...

So, Does It Make Economic Sense to Hire a Bankruptcy Lawyer in Arizona?

Posted on June 05, 2010
Well, on at least two occasions, I've referred the simplest cases in the world over to the self-help center at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, because I couldn't justify any fee for a case that was that small, that simple, and where the debtor had that few resources, even though they wanted to spend those resources on me...

How To Determine Whether a Bankruptcy Is the Right Solution, the Only Solution, or the Wrong Solution in Arizona

Posted on June 05, 2010
The decision tree that leads to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona is sometimes straight, and without branches.But many potential debtors anguish, and vacillate, and become subject to the paralysis of analysis, or the seductive power of hope in an impossible miracle economic salvation, and therefore wait waaaaay too long to start finding their own Arizona bankruptcy attorney...

When EVERYBODY Agrees, that Sorta Makes You Think the Economy is Getting Worse

Posted on June 05, 2010
There's an old gag about self-perception and other-perception. If one person says you're a donkey, you should ignore it. If two people tell you you're a donkey, you should consider whether you might want to change your behavior. If three people tell you you're a donkey, you should invest in a saddle and a pack...

Attorney Advertising, Bankruptcy in Arizona, and Aggressive Lawyers

Posted on June 04, 2010
This is not a post about substantive law.This is just a reaction to an article in The ABA Journal.In different areas of law, lawyers behave in different ways, because the definition of a good result may differ, and the economics of the practice may require different approaches...

Don't Try to Confuse Me with the Facts!

Posted on June 04, 2010
There are a lot of bankruptcy trustees who do work in Arizona, whether it's in Casa Grande, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale, Chandler or Paradise Valley.And, wouldn't you know it, they're all people.Now, I don't have a big problem with people, regardless of what that guidance counselor wrote in the file about me, and she was just crazy, you know?But trustees, being people, differ in their approaches to cases very, very greatly...

"For Spanish Press 1, For All Other Languages Press 2"; the Translation Service at the Bankruptcy Court

Posted on June 04, 2010
At a recent first meeting of creditors I was reminded of the march of technology.One of my clients spoke fluent English; her husband was much more comfortable in Korean. The trustee, remarkably efficient, asked if a translator would be useful. My client said yes...

Increasing the Profit Margin at Bankruptcy Mills by Using Virtual Paralegals

Posted on June 04, 2010
I was at a first meeting of creditors in Casa Grande a little while back. The first meetings there are less formal, and they are jammed, because a lot of folks in Casa Grande are filing bankruptcy cases of every flavor these days, and the lucky ones are filing Chapter 7 cases, and the rest are stuck in Chapter 13...

Another One Bites the Dust; And Another. The Bankruptcy Blog Laments.

Posted on June 04, 2010
Restaurants are closing and filing bankruptcy cases in Arizona at an increasing pace. I have written about this previously, and now point out that my worst fears of restaurant closings have been realized. The Lazy Lou's on Bethany Home Road is closed...

Can I Put the SUV and the car in my Brother's or Sister's Name before I File my Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Arizona?

Posted on June 03, 2010
No, Grasshopper!That would be bad. It's what we in the bankruptcy biz call a fraudulent transfer, and it gets you and your siblings in trouble. This question is asked frequently, and the answer is always the same. Now, if your vehicle is worth more than the exempt amount in Arizona (five thousand for most folks, ten thousand if you're disabled, although my feeling is that the disability must be serious, and must interfere with walking to count for the ten thousand dollar exemption for a vehicle in Arizona), you may very well want to sell it...

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