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

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

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.

Mind you, I went through a couple of million questions with 'em before I sent them there, because I knew I wouldn't be around if something went wrong in their bankruptcy case.

But in other cases, I have to ask, "What were they thinking when they filed a bankruptcy without a lawyer?"

I recently watched while a nice, intelligent young lady gave testimony at a first meeting of creditors in Arizona which will inevitably cost her four thousand dollars (a preference paid to mom).

And I've watched people sobbing when the bankruptcy trustee was forced to ask at their first meeting of creditors, "Do you have the five thousand dollars that was in your bank account on the date you filed? Because if you don't pay that to me, I'll file a Complaint Objecting to Discharge in your case!"

And that's sad.

But the one that struck me as the most sad was the nice cowboy and his wife who had four (count them, four) beautiful new pickup trucks, free and clear, just prior to his bankruptcy filing.

He didn't use a lawyer, and the value of the trucks was about 20-25k each, from what I could gather.

So how about that cost/benefit ratio in hiring a lawyer for that cowboy?

Well, yeah.

Although, as I've noted before, it's probably better to avoid a Bankruptcy Mill, or an Instant Bankruptcy Expert, or a casual bankruptcy filer.

Just my opinion, of course. And those are a little like white Mercedes in Los Angeles.

Full post as published by Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog on June 05, 2010 (boomark / email).