Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy Blog

Karen Fairchild has been an attorney for over 20 years and is well known for having a heart for the debtor. Her practice is centered in Sacramento and Placer counties of California and she specializes in Chapter 7.

On March 31, 2011, Karen Fairchild accepted the position as the first attorney instructor at My Bankruptcy School. This means that students will now have one free hour per month of access to a veteran bankruptcy attorney for training, or even case analysis and brainstorming. And if the student needs more time, the cost is only $99.00 per hour (or $50.00 per half hour.)

I cannot thank Karen Fairchild enough for accepting this position and lowering her fees just to accommodate the students of My Bankruptcy School.  To find out more about Karen, visit her website at:

http://karenfairchild.com

To find out more about My Bankruptcy School and review the other benefits provided to students, visit:

http://mybankruptcyschool.com

Victoria Ring Developer of My Bankruptcy School

— by Victoria Ring

I just returned from Ventura, California where I set up a new debtor bankruptcy law firm for Doug Michie and Marc Mathys. Doug and Marc attended law school together and have been good friends for many years.  Both had an extensive background in real estate and were doing loan modifications for their clients. It was a pleasure to meet them and I certainly enjoyed the time spent helping them develop their bankruptcy practice.

Before going to California, I provided Doug and Marc with 30 days of free access to My Bankruptcy School. This way, they were able to go through the training before I arrived and have a large part of the basics completed in regard to the petition itself. Then I was able to build on their basic knowledge and take their law firm to the next level.  This saved time and helped to get their practice up and running much faster.

Although I only spent one day training Doug and Marc, my plane did not go back to Denver until 3:00 pm Wednesday. This enabled us to work late Tuesday night and spend time focused on marketing. However, Doug and Marc quickly found that they already had a bankruptcy client base in place because many of their clients were already in foreclosure. Once they understood more about the world of bankruptcy and were exposed to the tremendous amount of filings in their jurisdiction (Central District of California) they were able to move forward. In fact, before I left, Doug and I conducted three client intakes and he converted two of them to Chapter 13 cases.

There is no doubt that Doug and Marc are going to do very well with their new bankruptcy practice. Not only are they honest, caring men who have a heart for the debtor, they are looking to network with other attorneys in their area. If you would like to contact them or refer Chapter 13s, please use the contact information below:

Doug Michie Email: doug@michielawfirm.com Phone: 805-643-9500 http://www.michielawfirm.com

Marc Mathys Email: marc@bkfreedom.com Phone: 805-643-3329 http://www.bkfreedom.com

If you are an attorney who is interested in stating a new bankruptcy practice, or if your current bankruptcy practice needs improvement, contact me and I will do my best to help you. I work with attorneys nationwide (on a case by case basis) so no two jobs are alike. Feel free to contact me at:

Victoria Ring Email: victoriaring1958@gmail.com Phone: 719-659-0743 http://www.victoria-ring.com

My staff and I just opened a new training office in Pueblo, Colorado.  Please update your records to the following:

Pueblo, Colorado 81001 Office: 719-696-8014

This office provides advanced training for attorneys (and those working for attorneys) in the bankruptcy field to advance their skills and knowledge in all areas to best benefit the law firm.

For example: Our next training session is scheduled for March 2-3 with an attorney who is flying in from Sacramento. I will spend 2 days setting up her law firm and training her in a wide variety of different techniques to streamline her operations.

When the attorney returns to her office she will be ready to accept clients because all her office procedures and marketing will be in place. Then, I can assist her remotely for any length of time, assisting her with actual cases and walking her through the entire process with her first client.

The cost for personalized, advanced training is a very affordable $850 per day. Most attorneys only need 2 days of training but 3 days is available if needed. Although most attorneys fly into Denver where we pick them up and take them to the training location, there are other law firms who will fly us to their location so that the attorney, as well as the entire staff can be trained at one time.

If you would like to discuss these options for your law firm please visit: http://www.victoria-ring.com or call me personally at 719-696-8014.

Remember: There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.

Victoria Ring Certified Paralegal and Business Coach

Many of the attorneys that we prepare petitions for are shocked when they go to their 341 Meeting and receive a list of Trustee Recommendations.  Because we provide paralegal services to our attorneys through confirmation of the plan or discharge of the Chapter 7 they will call us back to review the issues addressed by the Trustee, sometimes thinking that the petition could have been prepared wrong.

While we are quick to fix any problems that may have been caused through our error, some attorneys who are new to the industry become nervous because they do not understand how to solve the issue and dispute the Trustee. In fact, many automatically assume that just because the Trustee made a recommendation, they must abide by it and make the change.  This is simply NOT true.  First of all, a Trustee is NOT required to be an attorney to be hired for the position, so there is a possibility that the Trustee (whether he or she is an attorney or not) can make a mistake.

Here is one example of an error a Trustee recently made that we disputed:

We prepared a Chapter 7 for an Ohio attorney.  When the attorney went to court the Trustee objected to the use of the exemption allowance of $800 for the security deposit.  We used Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 2329.66(A)(18) on Schedule C but the Trustee said we needed to use Section 2329.66 (A)(3) instead, which provided for no exemption allowance.

Now, if this would have been handled by a non-seasoned attorney, the attorney may have made the change which would have resulted in the debtor paying $800 out of their pocket.

But we were determined to protect the debtor as much as possible.  I personally looked up Section 2329.66 (A)(3) and read it.  This code ONLY referred to a security deposit that would have been received within 90 days of the filing of the petition.  A quick cross-reference showed me that the debtor’s lease on their apartment would not expire within the 90 day guidelines set forth by this code. Therefore the debtor’s were eligible to use Section 2329.66(A)(18) as we had originally filed with the petition.  This saved the debtor $800 and the attorney learned a very valuable skill in protecting his debtors.

Another Example

We had a case where the Trustee demanded an additional $1,500 be paid per year from the proceeds of the tax refund check and he wanted this money placed inside the Chapter 13 Plan.  Unfortunately, the debtor had lost his income and would not qualify for a tax refund this year and therefore could not pay the $1,500.

Rather than change the Plan and comply with the Trustee’s unreasonable request, we contacted the tax preparer and asked them to fax us a letter stating the debtor would  not be receiving a refund check.  We then faxed this to the Trustee and the Trustee withdrew his recommendation.  This saved the debtor $1,500 and the attorney learned a very valuable lesson in protecting his debtors also.

Summary

Attorneys always have the ability to dispute and question any Trustee Recommendations that are made.  However, attorneys must also have enough knowledge of the bankruptcy law to protect their debtors and not allow the Trustee to take more than is permitted.

However, because many attorneys have jumped into the field of bankruptcy with no prior knowledge, and with the pre-conceived notion that bankruptcy is a quick and easy way to make money; problems like these are happening at alarming rates.  I strongly urge any attorney who fits this scenario to obtain training to protect your debtor or you are doing them a great injustice.   Two resources I suggest you consider are:

Excellent Books for Attorneys: http://shop.consumerlaw.org/forlawyers.aspx

Online Petition Training http://mybankruptcyschool.com or, for specialized training, contact:

Colorado Bankruptcy Training Office: 719-659-0743

Colorado Bankruptcy Training and Virtual Petitions have teamed up to offer bankruptcy attorneys the convenience of a HELPLINE.

THE HELPLINE WORKS LIKE THIS:

At any point during the intake process and even pre or post petition, you or a member of your staff can contact us with any questions regarding Chapter 7s and 13s. This contact can be made by email or telephone; whichever is convenient for you.  We will then do our best to answer the question or assist you in any way to solve the issue.

BONUS:  And during the process, we will train you in a variety of skills so that you eventually never need us.

Sonya and I decided to initiate this service because we are finding that most attorneys open up new bankruptcy practices without any prior knowledge of the intake process. In law school, attorneys are trained in the law, not the process that most paralegals perform.

Within the past month we have had four attorneys ask if they could call us to discuss their cases to gain insight from our combined 37 years of paralegal experience.  And this is why we decided to announce the service to our LinkedIn members to see how popular the service is received.

TO GET STARTED

1.  Email your name, law firm name, address, city, state and zip, telephone and email address to victoriaring1958@gmail.com  PAY NO MONEY UPFRONT.  (We provide the service and bill you after 30 days. There is NO RISK on the attorney’s part whatsoever.)

2.  Next, call or email the HelpLine when you have a case or issue regarding a Chapter 7 or 13 case.  Remember, we are not attorneys and we cannot provide legal advice. But we do have a wealth of knowledge in Chapter 7s and 13s that we enjoy sharing with attorneys so that the law firm prospers and the client receives the best benefits that bankruptcy can offer them. Monday through Friday HelpLine: Morning Shift: Sonya Banks 6:00 am to 12:00 noon PACIFIC time: 770-601-4730 Evening Shift: Victoria Ring, 12:00 noon to 7:00 pm PACIFIC time: 719-465-2442

3.  At the end of the month, we will provide you with a detailed invoice containing the clients’ name with a summary of our discussion.  You are billed at the rate of $125.00 per hour which is about half of what other on-demand support services charge.

If this is a service you do not need, please forward it to a new attorney who may benefit from the HelpLine.  Sonya and I have a passion for the debtor and we enjoy working with attorneys who feel the same way.  We hope to work with you and your staff soon.

Victoria Ring Colorado Bankruptcy Training http://www.coloradobankruptcytraining.com

If you are a new bankruptcy attorney you may be familiar with services such as Rapid Import and My Case Info that say they save you time if you pay them $10 per case. But this is NOT TRUE. Watch this 4 minute video and learn why these services do nothing but cause havoc when preparing the bankruptcy petition. Read the rest of this entry »

If the video does not automatically appear in the area above, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKODW2hfPVQ

This video covers a variety of free online tools that were developed specifically for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 debtor bankruptcy attorneys. These tools will save attorneys and their law firms money as well as provide as an excellent set of reliable resources when preparing bankruptcy petitions.

DO YOU ENJOY MY VIDEOS?

If you enjoy my short videos specifically designed for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorneys, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/MsVictoriaRing Click on SUBSCRIBE at the top of page

I had two attorneys this week send us bankruptcy cases where they wanted to propose a Cram Down on the FIRST mortgage and a Strip Down of the SECOND because the house was underwater. Unfortunately, both of the bankruptcy clients were not eligible for a cram down. I had to call both attorneys and let them know. They were shocked and were not aware that pre-qualification was necessary to propose a mortgage cram down and strip. This is when I decided to write this article to help other attorneys and their law firms. Read the rest of this entry »

– Victoria Ring, Colorado Bankruptcy Training

For those of you just entering the field of debtor bankruptcy, this article will be very helpful to you because it addresses a very common problem that occurs when working with debtors.  The common problem is that debtors want their cake and eat it too. This statement may sound a little harsh but allow me to explain:

I am finding that many new attorneys entering the bankruptcy field do not have the training to screen their clients before sending us the petitions for input.  One of the easiest methods for an attorney to screen their clients is to find out how much equity is in their home before taking the case. During the intake it only takes a minute or two to find out approximately how much the debtors owe on their mortgage.  Then, while the client is still in the office, go to a computer and do a search on www.zillow.com.  Although Zillow is certainly not a court authority by any stretch of the imagination, it will tell you immediately the approximate amount of unexempt equity the debtor may have.

For example: I had a case today for a California debtor who had just divorced. There was $200,000 of equity in the home.  Since the debtor was divorced, he only had to claim $100,000 of this equity.  Under the 704 California exemptions, the debtor was provided with a healthy $75,000, leaving him with $25,000 that was UNEXEMPT.  Was the debtor happy about the $75,000 exemption?  Of course not.  The debtor was angry because he wanted to keep the $25,000 plus have all his debts excused.  Although most debtors may not realize it at the time, in reality they are being unfair and asking the attorney to commit fraud by making this selfish demand.

Unfortunately, most of the new bankruptcy attorneys that I work with do not understand the bankruptcy law well enough to properly advise their client.  Instead, they accept the case, have the client fill out the intake forms, pay the fees and send the paperwork to my team.  We input the petition and discover the problem with the equity in the home.  By this time, the attorney has invested his or her time, the debtor has spent several hours gathering information and we have worked inputting the case.  When we discover this problem we alert the attorney, the attorney talks to the client and the debtor decides not file bankruptcy.  The attorney is forced to refund some of the money because the attorney did not know how to properly explain the advantages to the debtor of filing a Chapter 13 instead.  In fact, if the attorney had called to discuss this case with me, I could have taught him how to turn this unhappy client from a Chapter 7 to a positive Chapter 13 because I deal with these issues all the time.

For example, this particular debtor had $38,000 in Schedule F debts and $25,000 of unexempt equity in his home.  The debtor did not want to surrender his interest in the property because he wanted to make sure his ex-wife and children had a home to live in.  This is admirable, but the court and creditors look at numbers because they are not emotionally tied to debtors. New attorneys must learn these types of skills so they can help the debtor understand why it may or may not be to their advantage to file bankruptcy at this time.

But for the particular debtor in our scenario, it would have been to his advantage to file a Chapter 13.  First of all, we could have proposed a 100% Plan which would have more than likely protected the $25,000 of unexempt equity.  Secondly, the Chapter 13 would have eliminated $73,000 in interest charges over the 5 year Plan period, the debtor would have paid off his student loan in full as well as the unpaid personal income taxes from 2002.  By presenting these positive factors to the debtor, the attorney may have saved this case and never had to refund money.  Plus the debtor would be happier once he understood the advantages.

(Note:  A key to good marketing is to point out advantages for the client.  If you can show a client how much money you can save them and how, they often will do whatever is necessary to comply with your requests and invest their time and money making it happen.  This is what makes a happy client and this is what generates referrals.)

But in this case, the attorney did not call to discuss the matter with me.  He simply told the client that he would have to pay $25,000 or lose his home.  This naturally scared the debtor to death and he decided not to file. Who can blame him?

It amazes me when things like this happen; and they happen quite frequently.  In fact, it may be shocking to you also.  I hope so, because I want this article to be shocking enough to help to prevent this from happening to you.  Also, please understand that this article is not intended in any manner to provide legal advice.  I am not an attorney and I am not trying to predict what a bankruptcy court to do by writing this article.  I am simply trying to help you understand the concept of fairness so you will know how to better deal with situations exactly like this in the future.

I wish you the best of success and encourage you to continue learning and working hard to protect the debtor; but in a fair and balanced way.

Click here to find out more about our online training classes

The first Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition Training Class began on July 5, 2010. The first class consisted of eight students; four attorneys and four non-attorneys.  I asked the students if the online class was different compared to purchasing the training videos.  Three comments I received were:

The online class is much different from the videos.  You provide different information in the online class so I would recommend someone purchase both for well-rounded training.

I really prefer the online class because I can ask questions directly to the instructor and get an immediate answer.  I also like the personal touch because a video is a recording and the online classes are LIVE.

I like the videos because I can watch the lessons over and over again; however, the online class does provide an advantage in the fact that different information is covered compared to the training videos.

The Cost Saving Advantage to Online Classes

The biggest advantage to attending online classes is the cost savings.  For example, to attend a one day seminar you could invest as much as $2,000 for airfare, hotel and meals; let alone the time spent away from work.  But by attending online classes you CAN SAVE 90%. The Chapter 7 class is only $275 and the Chapter 13 is $150.  Plus, you attend online and have absolutely no overhead costs.

I noticed this benefit immediately during the development of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition Training Class.  From 2004 until this year I traveled throughout the United States speaking at seminars.  The average overhead cost for me to book a hotel meeting room, rent the audio visual equipment, make copies of manuals and buy food for attendees was about $3,000.  That meant that I needed 10 people to sign up for a $300 seminar just to break even.  Rarely did I ever produce a profit, but I knew the training was necessary for attorneys and virtual bankruptcy assistants, so I continued doing the seminars as long as I broke even; but my business suffered because I was out of town; just like your law firm would suffer if you had to miss work to attend a seminar.

However, now, with the development of the online class, I can conduct a class if only one person signs up.  That’s because instead of paying $3,000 in overhead expenses for a one day seminar, I only pay $7 a month for hosting the website.  My costs are reduced – the costs for the student are reduced; and it is a win/win situation that I am sure more people are going to enjoy.

Why are some people apprehensive about online classes?

One reason people have trouble accepting online courses are that the quality of many of them is extremely poor.  I signed up for a class that had absolutely no live interaction from the instructor.  In fact, she would not even reply to my emails.  I had to actually call the school and complain just to get the instructor to respond.  Also, the materials were only available online, not in a classroom setting; and the materials were very scanty and contained poor content.  The information was only theory and contained nothing that I could actually put to use in my real work life.

These are just a couple of reasons why online schools and classes have a bad reputation and are destroying the reputation for professional schools like MyBankruptcySchool.com.  I hope you give us a chance because the materials we provide are the best in the field and are taught by the developer of the virtual bankruptcy assistant industry.  This is top level training at low prices designed for bankruptcy attorneys just starting a law firm and operating on a tight budget.

Questions from Attorneys Regarding the Online Classes

Q: Why is the Chapter 7 class so long?  Can I jump ahead and take the class in a few days?

A: The online courses that I developed are not intended to dictate to you like grade school.  If you want to download all the handouts and quizzes, never attend a class and complete your training in a few days; that decision is entirely up to you.  I will tell you that you get so much more from attending the live meetings because you learn a great deal from the instructor.  But whether you attend or not is your decision.

Q: What materials do I receive once I enroll in the course?

A: Prior to the first day of the course you will be emailed a username and password so you can have access to My Bankruptcy School online.  A video showing you a visual tour around the interface is provided at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc-598gBlxQ

Once logged into MyBankruptcySchool.com you will have access to:  (1) extensive handout materials; (2) quizzes to check your progress; (3) audios of previously recorded classes; plus (4) all the other features of the interface.

Q: What other topics do you cover in the course that are not listed on the website?

A: Every class is very intense and contains a great deal of information.  However, every class is different because the topics are structured around the needs of the particular students in that class.  However, some popular topics I cover to help attorneys are: (1) how to set up electronic files; (2) how to incorporate marketing techniques into your operational procedures to produce long term results; (3) client intake interview tips; and (4) social media for marketing.

Do you have any other questions?

Fill out the contact form at: http://www.coloradobankruptcytraining.com/contact-us

What classes are available?

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Classes are available at: http://www.bankruptcytrainingproducts.com/home/web-and-teleconference-training

How do I find the My Bankruptcy School website? http://www.mybankruptcyschool.com

Sample Bankruptcy Games

Bankruptcy Terminology Game http://www.quia.com/cc/1983817.html

Bankruptcy Hangman Game http://www.quia.com/hm/665546.html