Part of our commitment as bankruptcy attorneys is to inform and educate clients about the bankruptcy process. As a part of the client-attorney team, it is important for you to understand the forms you sign as part of your bankruptcy case. You are required to sign many of the forms we will file and [...]

  Part of our commitment as bankruptcy attorneys is to inform and educate clients about the bankruptcy process. As a part of the client-attorney team, it is important for you to understand the forms you sign as part of your bankruptcy case. You are required to sign many of the forms we will file and […]The post Understanding the Bankruptcy Forms appeared first on Tucson Bankruptcy Attorneys Trezza & Associates.

A recent potential client called the office and wanted to get started with a filing.  At the meeting, we talked about a greater likelihood of Chapter 13 based upon the income of the debtor and his spouse.  Today, the talk came up about Chapter 7 once again.  Here is what I do in these situations:+ Read MoreThe post Everyone Wants A Chapter 7 It Seems appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Oftentimes, when someone comes to see me for bankruptcy advice, they are already thinking beyond the process and into regaining credit.  The trouble with this line of thinking is serious.  Firstly, the client should be mostly concerned with getting out of debt.  After all, the excessive debt is the reason for the consultation in the+ Read MoreThe post The Obsession With Credit Before Filing For Bankruptcy appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Can I keep my car in Chapter 13?  Yes, you can keep your car through Chapter 13.  If your car is paid in full, it will just increase the amount that you have to pay back to your creditors based on the equity in your car.  If you have a car that’s worth $10,000, you’re+ Read MoreThe post Three Big Questions About Chapter 13 appeared first on David M. Siegel.

What is a Chapter 13 bankruptcy?  A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a reorganization of your debt or a repayment plan through the federal government of anywhere from 3 to 5 years.  Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a very complicated process; much more complicated than Chapter 7 so an attorney is definitely something you should acquire before+ Read MoreThe post What People Want To Know Most About Chapter 13 Bankruptcy appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Meet me in New Orleans. That’s where the bankruptcy action will be at the end of October. It’s NACBA’s 2013 Fall Workshop But early-bird sign up is over at the end of this week, September 6th. Three tracks With longer sessions for more in-depth treatment, the workshop is organized into three tracks Fundamentals Evidence, Mortgages, and Secured Claims Office Management You can bounce between tracks to pick the things most relevant to your practice. Hallway magic California transplant Jay Fleischman coined the phrase “hallway magic” to describe the unscripted learning that goes on between workshop sessions.  It is, truly, magic. Exchange ideas, rants, challenges with others in the hallways, and you learn something unexpected. Sit, not with your friends, but with new faces, and you expose yourself to new ways to approach clients, judges, and the puzzle of making a living serving those who are broke. (My kids could never understand how that worked.) Maybe I drop in on Rachel Foley‘s track and see what ideas are floating around Office Management. Professional growth required I was sworn in to the California bar 35 years ago.  While a bunch of my classmates at Hastings never practiced, or gave up law almost as soon as they started practice, I’ve continued to find law challenging and satisfying for decades. In large part, I think that’s because I fell into bankruptcy law, where you deal with the overlay of federal bankruptcy law over state law rights. Interesting things happen in the interstices. But it takes events like the workshops to step away from bankruptcy law at the particular level and see issues new ways.  I am always blown away at how often I see a new connection, a new complexity, or a new strategy when I go to a seminar. Think you’ve mastered the law, and you are heading for a trainwreck. Commit So, do something, now. Check out the Workshop agenda.  Register. If your membership has lapsed, renew.  You have to be a NACBA member to attend. There are travel discounts. Plan how you’ll spend the savings on your early-bird registration. See you there. Image courtesy of NASA and Flickr.    

You most certainly can stop bill collectors from calling you once you hire an attorney to handle your debt situation.  Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, creditors are prohibited from contacting you once they are made aware of the fact that you have representation.  If creditors violate this Act, they can be sued in+ Read MoreThe post Can I stop bill collectors from calling me? appeared first on David M. Siegel.

How soon after bankruptcy can I buy a house again? Sooner than most people think.  And for some, it just got even better.    That’s because of a new policy from the Federal Housing Administration, announced by FHA Commissioner Carole Galante. Under that new policy, some people can get approved to get an FHA backed [...]The post How soon after bankruptcy can I buy a house again? appeared first on Robert Weed.

You want to file your bankruptcy case right now.  Maybe you even found www.filenow.com.  If you did, your lawyer has a problem.  Your lawyer’s problem now is your problem. If your bankruptcy attorney has been disbarred, you may feel lost and abandoned. Perhaps you’ve paid a large fee.  But a disbarred lawyer can’t file your Chicago bankruptcy case. It’s not right to charge you more for legal services than you agreed to pay.  A bankruptcy attorney must give you a contract which describes what he or she will do for you. And then he or she must perform these services.  There should be no extra charges for your bankruptcy case unless you agreed to them in writing. And a bankruptcy lawyer in Chicago should handle all normal aspects of your chapter 7 bankruptcy from start to finish for the agreed upon flat fee. For most chapter 13 cases in the Northern District of Illinois, you’ll sign a form contract called the “Court Approved Retention Agreement.”  This is the only agreement allowed if your lawyer wants to receive a $4,000 flat fee for your chapter 13 case.  There can’t be any side deals or side agreements if your lawyer wants a $4,000 flat fee. What can you do if your Chicago bankruptcy lawyer has been disbarred or convicted of a crime? You can find an ethical, competent, highly acclaimed Chicago bankruptcy attorney at Lakelaw. For example, David Leibowitz is board certified by the American Board of Certification as a consumer bankruptcy attorney and a business bankruptcy attorney even though this is not required to practice law in Illinois.  He has been retained as an expert witness in legal malpractice cases concerning consumer bankruptcy.  He chaired of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Consumer Bankruptcy Committee for two years.  Now he is coordinating editor of the Consumer Corner column of the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Journal. He has been selected to write on bankruptcy ethics by Bloomberg Law for its soon-to-be-published bankruptcy treatise. If you have been victimized by a disbarred Chicago bankruptcy attorney, or an Chicago bankruptcy lawyer convicted of a crime, Lakelaw will take over your case at a reduced fee. And we’ll try to recover unearned fees for you too. And as always, David Leibowitz will represent you with care, kindness, courtesy, respect, professionalism and dedication, just as he has for thousands of clients for almost 40 years.