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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

Just Another Trap in the Bankruptcy Jungle

Posted on July 22, 2009
The 2005 Amendments were not debtor-friendly. They were downright debtor-hostile. The banks, seeing the collapse of the U.S. economy coming, were interested in trying to avoid the consequences of their own actions in shoving credit cards and mortgages at anybody with a pulse, and they lobbied Congress heavily (translation: spent money like water on campaign contributions) for ten long years before they got what they had paid for: the 2005 Bankruptcy Amendments...

The Bankruptcy Court is Like a Jungle, and Filing is Like an Expedition into an Exotic Land. With Rhinos. To Bag the Elusive Discharge.

Posted on July 22, 2009
Prior to the 2005 Amendments, the Bankruptcy Court was a fairly safe, loving, supportive kind of place. Never a walk in the Themepark, but not bad. It wasn't Disneyland, but bankruptcy lawyers could always point to nice, loving, supportive language in the legislative history to the Bankruptcy Code (the "New Code" of October 1, 1979) that indicated it was supposed to be the land of the Big Mac...

So If I Don't Like the Direction My Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is Going, I Can Just Dismiss It, Right?

Posted on July 22, 2009
Wrong, Insolvency Breath!Actually, you can always ask to have it dismissed; just no guarantee that you can actually get it dismissed. I'll turn this into a real blogpost soon enough, but in general just understand that you don't have an absolute right to dismiss your Chapter 7 case if it starts moving sideways...

Bankruptcy Pre-filing Jitters, and the Platonic Ideal of Bankruptcy Schedules

Posted on July 21, 2009
It is absolutely normal to get nervous just prior to filing your bankruptcy; don't let it disturb you at all. I've had 30 years of watching folks who have pre-filing jitters, some much more than others. Do a little more exercise; take the dog for a walk...

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How Will I Pay for a Bankruptcy if I'm Broke? How Much Will My Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cost?

Posted on July 19, 2009
There's an old joke among lawyers: a bankruptcy attorney walks into a cocktail party, and the divorce lawyer asks, "How does a bankruptcy lawyer get paid?", to which the response is, "Up front."There's a certain amount of truth buried in that joke. A consumer bankruptcy lawyer doesn't want a fee owed to him to be discharged along with all the other debt, so he or she has a tendency to get paid in full prior to the filing...

The Lost Generation

Posted on July 17, 2009
Has anybody else noticed that we're about to lose a generation of our best and brightest?Not to war, although some will go that way. Not to disease, although I expect a fairly remarkable increase in tuberculosis over the next few years. No, to depression and despair...

The Secret Chapter 7 Exemption in Arizona

Posted on July 11, 2009
There's a secret bankruptcy exemption in Arizona, which accounts for the fact that most bankruptcy cases in Arizona are designated no-asset cases. It's so secret that you won't find it in any law books, or on the list of exemptions at the Bankruptcy website for the District of Arizona...

Pre-Judgment Remedies Again? Everything Old is New Again!

Posted on July 08, 2009
A brilliant paralegal, Fred Hersh, who was the smartest guy in several states, worked for me for several years. He had essentially memorized the pre-judgment remedy statutes. Knew 'em backwards and forwards. He had been a marine, and he was a really, truly, and seriously tough guy...

Congratulations on Receiving Your Discharge! No, Your Chapter 7 Case isn't over yet!

Posted on July 08, 2009
There's a lot for debtors to understand about the way the new, post-2005 Bankruptcy World works here in Arizona. And my guess is that it's similar in the rest of the U.S. When debtors, even very intelligent debtors, receive their long-awaited Discharge Order from the U...

Are Gas Cards Exempt In Arizona?

Posted on July 07, 2009
Maybe. Maybe not. The Arizona exemption reads "food, fuel and provisions". For six months. If the debtor has two gas cards worth two hundred each, and lists them as exempt as "fuel", they ought to pass muster because exemptions should be liberally construed in favor of the debtor, and there's no opposing case law...

I SAVED THE FAMILY FARM, WITH THE HELP OF SMART OPPOSING COUNSEL!

Posted on July 07, 2009
Frequent readers will recall that I was agonizing about the prospect of filing a Chapter 12 Bankruptcy to save a family farm here in Arizona. But I didn't have to file a Chapter 12 case for the Good Ol' Boy. I was able to fix it with the free bite at the apple, augmented version (I made the phone call, instead of the client making the phone call)...

Not unless you LIKE Striped Pajamas!

Posted on July 07, 2009
No, I won't file a bankruptcy for you.Because you are already entitled to receive a $2,000,000 inheritance (not her real number) from your mother's estate in Lithuania (not his real country).And 11 USC 541 (Property of the Estate) says that if you are or become entitled to an inheritance within about six months of filing your bankruptcy, that inheritance becomes property of the estate...

Do I Get to Keep the Wedding Ring, Part II

Posted on July 03, 2009
I previously blogged about the wedding ring issue, but I'm going to try it again, and this time I'll try to make it more direct. 1)You will absolutely get to keep your wedding ring in an Arizona Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case if you decide you want to do so;2)The only issue is how much dough you have to pay the Arizona Chapter 7 Trustee if you want to keep your wedding ring;3)In 98 per cent of all cases, the wedding ring is worth only $2,000 replacement value, so if wife and husband "stack" their exemptions on her ring, they keep it without paying the trustee anything, as long as the trustee doesn't object to the exemption-and if he does, the trustee will be objecting to value, not the ring itself; 4)Your wedding-ring-specific homework, IF YOU THINK THE RING MAY BE WORTH MORE THAN $2,000, is to go to three pawn shops and ask how much they'd give you for the ring...

Bankruptcy and Crayons Don't Mix

Posted on June 30, 2009
I love kids, particularly well-done with catchup. Just kidding!I have two, and the white hair to prove it; and I love them beyond understanding. But bankruptcy is serious stuff. You actually have to PAY ATTENTION when I'm talking to you, and if Johnny is chewing on the electrical cords, or wetting down the computer that I use during consultations, that might be...

So Can I Save the Family Farm from Snidely Whiplash?

Posted on June 30, 2009
Frequent readers will readily recall my most frequent answer to any mixed fact-and-law bankruptcy question: maybe.Turns out that Chapter 12 Bankruptcy cases are capable of being filed here in Arizona, although they often are not because our farms tend to be a bit too big, and the debts a bit too big, for jurisdictional limits...

A Free Bite at the Apple

Posted on June 30, 2009
I drafted this post for my bankruptcy blog, and then realized it was useful to baby lawyers as well. So to read it, go to my Just for Lawyers blog!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...

I'm not Casper, and I Won't Ghost-Write the Schedules for You

Posted on June 27, 2009
At the Arizona State Bar Convention Bankruptcy Seminar today, there was a great discussion of the ethical rules associated with bankruptcy. One of the situations the lecturer discussed was the ghost writing case; that's where the debtor puts together the petition, schedules, lists and statements, and the bankruptcy lawyer doesn't sign and file it...

Guilt, Shame and Bankruptcy

Posted on June 27, 2009
So there I am, asking questions and answering questions during any old client interview. And there I am, amazed and befuddled when they burst into tears. Here's why. I'm sometimes too far ahead, because I'm working on the "how" of the process almost from the moment that the clients show up in my office...

I Have a New Blog; Ignore it. It's Just for Lawyers. No, really! It's Just for Lawyers!

Posted on June 27, 2009
I've filed bankruptcy cases for lawyers (and doctors and C.P.A.s and dentists and Corporate Moguls), but it always makes me sad to do so, although I've been happy when the lawyer got a discharge in the bankruptcy and got to move on with life. But there are a bundle of new lawyers coming out of law schools who won't be able to get a job because BigLaw isn't hiring, and they're competing with established lawyers...

Here's link to a Useful Free Video About Consumer Bankruptcy

Posted on June 19, 2009
Here's a link to a video (runs about an hour!) that talks about ordinary bankruptcy in ordinary language. The guy speaking is a little nervous at the beginning of his presentation. But he's a knowledgable and experienced bankruptcy lawyer, and you'll learn a fair amount when you listen to his presentation...

Hey, Getting Dumped by Voicemail is Bad, but Getting Fired? From BigLaw???

Posted on June 19, 2009
During this depression, no job is safe, not even at major law firms. Not even at major law firms in Great Britain. The genteel practice of law that existed in Great Britain is now changing, as the deceptive security blanket of working for big law firms in the United States has unraveled...

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

Posted on June 19, 2009
Gentle reader, you may wonder why I care whether you do your homework before you come in to visit with me for the first time. 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...

If You're Going to File a Bankruptcy Anyway, Is a Short Sale the World's Best Idea?

Posted on June 18, 2009
I just got off the phone with a lovely woman who was arm-wrestling with the IRS over a tax consequence of a short sale. And she had some other debt and wanted to talk bankruptcy. Made me wonder how many other folks are trying to short-sell their houses in a good faith effort to be good-do-bees and who are therefore walking into nooses that they don't see coming...

If You're So Famous, Why Did You File Bankruptcy, Rembrandt? Fame and Bankruptcy in the United States. And Elsewhere.

Posted on June 18, 2009
I was reminded today that fame is no protection against insolvency. Nor prior success. Nor intelligence. Nor spiritual attainment. Insolvency happens. Bankruptcy happens. I've heard it said that the average American millionaire goes broke four times before he or she gets to keep the dough...

Here's a Cool Website if you want a Judicial Clerkship!

Posted on June 17, 2009
If you can't recognize a neat blog, why bother blogging?There's a nifty blog located here that lets prospective clerks know about judicial clerkships; it's called the Clerkship Notification Blog. I'm an old used judicial clerk, first for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Maggiore, and then for Chief Bankruptcy Judge Caldwell, both for the U...

Why Did You Ask if We're Married when we Talked About Filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition in Arizona?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Simmer down. I don't want to know about your personal lives, exactly. But you have two separate and distinct last names, and you don't wear wedding rings. I don't care if you're doing what my parents would have called "Living in Sin". Or what my generation, 30 years ago, would have called "Ordinary Life"...

I Hope I Don't Have to Re-Learn how to File a Chapter 12 Bankuptcy for a Family Farmer in Arizona!

Posted on June 16, 2009
I hope I don't have to re-learn Chapter 12 cases. My firm confirmed one sometime in the paleolithic period, but I haven't done one recently.My memory tells me that they're pretty similar to Chapter 13 cases, with no requirement for a disclosure statement...

If my wife and I are Going to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Arizona, do Both of Us have to take the Credit Counseling Classes?

Posted on June 16, 2009
Yes.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...

What Happens to my Little Business When I File a Personal Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Arizona?

Posted on June 16, 2009
That depends. Have you noticed that things all happen in clusters, influenced apparently by sunspots?I got three calls this month from folks who had filed pro-per emergency Chapter 11 cases. And yes, I referred all three out of the office. I want to know the end game before I file a Chapter 11...

The Trustee Wants Three Years of Tax Returns Immediately After You File Your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy In Arizona, No Kidding!

Posted on June 15, 2009
Right after you file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Arizona, your trustee sends you a letter asking for COPIES of titles to your vehicles and your real property (your house, for instance).The Trustee also asks for copies of three years of tax returns. Our Trustees are very polite, so it sounds like they're requesting the three years of tax returns...

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