Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy Blog

Enroll at http://www.mybankruptcyschool.com

September 7 – Getting Started and Pre-Qualifying Debtors September 11 – Voluntary Petition, Schedules A and B September 15 – Schedules C, D, E and F September 20 – Schedules G, H, I and J September 24 – Statement of Affairs and Means Test September 28 – Miscellaneous Forms and Finalization Techniques September 30 – Marketing on the Internet

START CLASSES ANYTIME

The schedule above is for LIVE classes.  But when you enroll you gain immediate access to the online school.  Each class module is filled with training materials, videos and audios so you can get started learning right away.

However, during the LIVE classes you will be able to interact with the instructor, Victoria Ring.  You are also encouraged to bring problem petitions to the class so that everyone can learn through real world practice.

STUDENTS ALSO RECEIVE

** 90 days of free access to the online school after the graduation month ** 90 days of free access to future Chapter 7 classes so you can repeat classes if you miss one or need to review the information a second time ** 50 percent discount on private training services during the time you are enrolled as a student

VIDEOS FOR REVIEW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39Knm0X6TTs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oInwBLMGvKA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojn-TWS6aAA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bF3G8zCWmY

ENROLL AT http://www.mybankruptcyschool.com

My Bankruptcy School is for both attorneys, paralegals and legal professionals working for attorneys. We have attorneys sign up as individuals because they prepare their own petitions; or we have attorneys sign up with their paralegals.  We also have entire law firms of 5 or more sign up and take the classes together.  Regardless of whether you are a beginning or have experience with petitions, I hope you decide to join us and increase your current petition skills.

INSTRUCTORS

Victoria Ring – http://www.victoria-ring.com Sonya Banks – http://www.virtualpetitions.com

If the video does not automatically appear in the area above, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39Knm0X6TTs

MyBankruptcySchool.Com is the first online school developed for bankruptcy attorneys, paralegals and legal professionals to teach Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy petition preparation skills. This video walks you through the benefits provided to students who enroll in the online courses.

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

– 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

– by Victoria Ring, www.victoria-ring.com

From June 13-16, 2010, I had the pleasure of training the First Master Certified Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant (MVBA), Sonya Banks of VirtualPetitions.Com, LLC in Loganville, Georgia. Sonya arrived in Colorado Springs on Sunday, June 13 to begin training for the Master Certification.  Before her arrival, Sonya already had five years of experience working virtually for an attorney but she wanted to expand her services so that she could work for a variety of attorneys and advance her knowledge in bankruptcy and Chapter 13s.

Our training began with an intense review of Chapter 13s and a variety of different Chapter 13 Plans.  I trained Sonya using methods of deep case study in a variety of different consumer-based Chapter 13 filings found online through PACER.  In addition, I downloaded a case study review that is used by the American Bar Institute for the certification of attorneys.  Although many areas of the exam were completely over our heads (since the exam pertained to the logic of the law itself) it was still an excellent way to study cases and understand how they progress and are handled through the bankruptcy court process.

Next, Sonya and I again utilized PACER in the study of different pleadings used in the Complaint process as well as the various Adversarial Proceedings connected with bankruptcy filings.  This skill enables Sonya to be able to study cases and work with attorneys in updating the petition based upon the Trustee Recommendations as well as other problems that can occur after the 341 Meeting.  This level of skill is only achieved by Master Certified Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants.

To finish the training and for a better well-rounded education, I taught Sonya how to design her own website and maintain it.  This will save Sonya literally thousands of dollars and reduce her overhead expenses to zero.  I also taught her many different marketing methods and we customized a marketing plan so that she could return home and put a plan into action immediately.

After the training was complete I asked Sonya to comment about her experience, and her reply was:

This experience has been a life-changing event.  I learned more in 30 hours than most people learn in one year.  One important thing I learned was that I am marketing all wrong and now that I know how marketing works; I have learned how to incorporate it into my daily business routine.  Like Victoria, I have learned how to make marketing fun and exciting and I cannot wait to return home and try some of the ideas I learned.  Also, I feel very confident that I have the skills needed to do a very good job for attorneys and I did not have this confidence before coming to Colorado Springs for training. (Sonya Banks)

SUMMARY

If you are an attorney seeking to outsource your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 petition work, I highly recommend the services of Sonya Banks and her company.  Not only is she our first Master Certified VBA, but she is a kind, patient and wonderful lady with high moral character.  Your clients, as well as you and your staff will love working with her.  To contact Sonya:

Email: sonya@virtualpetitions.com Phone: 770-601-4730

DOES YOUR LAW FIRM NEED TRAINING?

Review the various training options available to you and your law firm staff at: http://www.coloradobankruptcytraining.com http://www.victoria-ring.com

The first Chapter 7 Petition Training Course will begin its first class in July.  This is your unique opportunity to work one-on-one with Victoria Ring in learning how to prepare a detailed Chapter 7 petition.  Along the way you will learn 100s of time and money-saving techniques that will improve your skills.

This course is designed to teach attorneys, paralegals and other law office personnel how to prepare a well-detailed Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition. In the process the student will learn a high level of skills that enables them to curtail most (if not all) Deficiency Notices issued by the Trustee after the 341 Meeting is complete.

This course is for both beginners as well as advanced students.  The reason we can provide one class that meets the needs of a wide range of knowledge levels is because the course is structured to teach a higher level of detail than is normally never taught in typical bankruptcy law firms.  This allows those who have been trained in the haphazard, traditional training methods to apply their present knowledge and advance their skills tremendously through the lessons they learn in the Chapter 7 Petition Training Course.

Beginning students who have never been trained in the haphazard, traditional method of preparing a bankruptcy petition will have the advantage of being trained correctly from the beginning.  This will protect students at this knowledge level from many of the common problems that exist in the majority of bankruptcy law firms today; which originated from poor petition training methods.

For more information and to sign up, visit: http://www.bankruptcytrainingproducts.com/home/web-and-teleconference-training

The following questions were submitted by bankruptcy attorneys during the past week. The answers are provided by Victoria Ring who is not an attorney.  Therefore, the information provided in this material is for training purposes only and no whole or part should be conceived as legal advice.

DEAR VICTORIA

I am a new attorney doing my first bankruptcy petition where I am proposing a cram down.  The appraised value of my clients home is $185,000.  They owe $170,000 on the first mortgage and $45,000 on the second.  How can I do a cram down?

ANSWER

You cannot do a cram down.  A cram down is when the house is worth LESS than the amount that is owed.  The amount that is owed is crammed down to the appraised value.  In your clients case, the opposite is true.

Perhaps it will help you to understand the concept better if you think of it this way:

If the house had to be sold and it sold for $185,000; there would be plenty enough money to pay off the first mortgage of $170,000. In fact, you would have $15,000 left over after the sale and the pay off.  Therefore, a cram down is impossible to do since there is nothing to cram down.

However, on the second mortgage, you may be able to propose a reduction since there is only $15,000 left.  Instead of the client paying $45,000, they may only need to pay $15,000 on the second mortgage.  The remaining $30,000 from the second mortgage is actually unsecured equity.

But let us not forget the exemption allowance provided for by your state.  If the exemption allowance is $50,000 the figures change for both mortgage companies.  Therefore, I would need to review Schedule A of your clients petition in order to determine the different strategies available in this particular case.

DEAR VICTORIA

How can I find the IRS Guidelines so I can accurately calculate Schedule J of the bankruptcy petition?

ANSWER

The main page of links I put together to help you when preparing bankruptcy petitions is at: http://www.bankruptcylinks.info/about/prepare-petitions

The links to the IRS guidelines are at: http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/meanstesting.htm http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=104627,00.html http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=104696,00.html http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20061001/bci_data/median_income_table.htm http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=104623,00.html

Keep in mind that the government wants you to think outside the box.  Many of the guidelines are lumped into categories that are not consistent with Schedule J.

The only purpose in reviewing the IRS guidelines and comparing them to the Schedule J figures the clients provide is to make sure the figures are accurate.  For example, gasoline prices fluctuate from week to week.  If the clients tell you they spend $200 a month on gas this month and the IRS guidelines allow them $800; it is an indication that the client may have provided you with a wrong figure and you should ask them to provide a more accurate one.

Why is this important? Because if you give your clients a Chapter 13 Plan payment they cannot afford, they will be unable to stay in the Chapter 13.  This escalates costs as well as other problems for attorneys, clients and the bankruptcy court.

However, this is not a skill that you learn preparing one bankruptcy petition.  This is why I incorporate the training of this skill when I train attorneys.  Believe me, I did not learn the skill overnight myself.

DEAR VICTORIA

The liquidation analysis says that the unsecured debts get nothing but I am not sure how to adjust for that since the plan wants to automatically pay them. Do I use: not in plan, for each to stop the computation?

ANSWER

Unsecured debts should NEVER be removed from a Chapter 13 Plan.  That is one of the main purposes of filing a Chapter 13 in the first place.  The solution is not to trick the software into not calculating unsecured debts.  The solution is to fix what you did wrong and make sure that the unsecured creditors are paid a minimum percentage.  The minimum percentage varies from state to state.  In California, attorneys can have as low as a 2% Plan but in Ohio they never allowed any Plan less than 10%.  As an attorney, you need to call the Chapter 13 Trustee’s office or consult with an experienced attorney in your area to find out the minimum Plan percentage accepted in your state.

DEAR VICTORIA

When you switch from a Chapter 7 to a 13, why does the dialog box come up in the software asking if you want to change your answer on funds available to the unsecured creditors? Are you supposed to have funds in a 13 and not for a 7?

ANSWER

I assume you are referring to the Voluntary Petition.  There are two checkboxes on this form with the following two choices:

Box 1: YES.  Debtor estimates that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors. Box 2: NO. Debtor estimates that, after any exempt property is executed and administrative expenses paid, there will be no funds available to unsecured creditors.

Yes, your assumption is correct.  If there are no funds available to pay unsecured creditors, the debtor is filing a Chapter 7.  One of the requirements to file a Chapter 13 is that there is money left over to pay unsecured creditors.  Besides, if there is no money left over, how could the debtor be filing a Chapter 13 anyway?  They would have no Plan payment to make if they have no money left.  This is a Chapter 7.

DEAR VICTORIA

Where, if anywhere, are there widely accepted interest rates for the secured debt published?  Is this an area where there are lots of disputes?

ANSWER

I called an attorney in California to get a good answer for this question.  The attorney told me this: The interest rate currently paid by the debtor should be used on secure debts unless it is excessive.  To have figures to compare she suggested you find out the average percentage people with good credit pay to purchase a new home (or other asset) in your area.  Suppose you find out this percentage is 2% but the clients are paying 27%.  This is excessive; and in bankruptcy, you may consider proposing the 2% instead of 27% and hopefully there will be no objection from the mortgage company.

DEAR VICTORIA

With all the information you know about bankruptcy and law firm operations, do you plan to publish a book?

ANSWER Yes.  Two attorneys in Georgia (J. Jeffrey Williams and Patricia Lyda Williams) and myself are putting together the materials now.  The name of the book will be: What They Did Not Teach You in Law School About Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.  We hope the book will be ready for sale within 90 days.

DEAR VICTORIA

I am a California attorney. If I attend your web training seminar how many MCLE credits do I receive?

ANSWER

The MCLE credits permitted by the State of California are only for seminars that you physically attend. MCLE credits are not provided for the web training seminars I develop and offer to help your law firm.  Besides, the purpose of the web training seminars Michael and I provide is to teach you skills that will improve your bottom line and help you to have a well run and organized law firm.  If we have to force attorneys to attend our seminars through the lure of giving them credits, I really do not think those attorneys would appreciate the training they receive.

IN THE MEANTIME

If you are a new bankruptcy attorney, spend 1 hour with me online and I guarantee I can help solve many problems with your petitions that you are encountering. The cost is only $100 for a full hour and we meet via a web meeting. This means that you will login to the internet and be able to view my computer screen.  This way, I can provide you with visual training, which has more impact than talking solely on the telephone.

Call 719-465-2442 or email victoriaring@coloradobankruptcytraining.com to schedule your training.

ATTEND THE CRAM DOWN WEB SEMINAR

Check us out for only a $25.00 investment. Attend the June 5, 2010 Bankruptcy Cram Down Web Training Seminar.  Sign up at: http://www.coloradobankruptcytraining.com/newsite/contact-us/bankruptcy-web-training

If you have any questions you would like answered in this forum, send them by email to victoriaring@coloradobankruptcytraining.com Your name or contact information will never be used unless you specifically request it.  And if I do not know the answer, I will ask an attorney and get an answer for you.

Have a wonderful week.

If you have worked in bankruptcy longer than 1 minute, I am sure you know that one of the most time-consuming tasks in preparing a bankruptcy petition is waiting for the client to provide you with the information you need.

ATTORNEYS DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM IN A NUMBER OF WAYS:

1.  Some attorneys designate one specific person in the office to follow-up with clients and make sure the client intake forms are filled out properly as well as gathering all the documentation BEFORE the petition even begins the input cycle.

2.  Some attorneys will enter in the data they have.  Then, as new information comes in from the debtor, they add to the information in the bankruptcy software until the petition is completed and ready to file.

3.  Some attorneys bring the clients into the office and does a live client intake interview to speed up the process.  In the interview the debtor is made to answer all the questions on the forms and sent home with a list of documents they need to bring back to the office before their petition is filed.

4.  Some attorneys just put everything in a file and do not do anything until the debtor pays their entire attorney fee in full.

MY SOLUTION:

After preparing and working with literally thousands of bankruptcy petitions, the method that works for me is NOT to enter the data into a Schedule until you have all the information you need for that particular Schedule.

For example, the average debtor does not enjoy filling out debt sheets.  They want the law firm to pull a credit report and gather their own information, rather than caring enough to take responsibility and do the job right. (Note:  A credit report is a tool. It should never be used solely to prepare Schedule F.) Therefore, before I prepare Schedule F of the bankruptcy petition, I look through the debt sheets the debtors provided.  If the debt sheets are not at least 80% complete, I do not enter anything on Schedule F.  The same holds true for Schedule A.  If the debtors do not have a recent appraisal, know who they pay their mortgage to, provide account numbers, the date the debt was incurred and a balance owed on the mortgage, I do not begin Schedule A.

I have found that by following this procedure, I rarely miss important pieces of data within the bankruptcy petition.  If I enter one piece of info, close the software, find another piece of data, open up the software and enter it, then repeat this process over and over again until one Schedule is complete; errors are much more prominent.  Additionally, the process is much more time-consuming.  If you continually open and close your software program, entering data as it is fed to you, you not only increase your time spent working on the petition but you will greatly decrease efficiency.

DO YOU ENJOY THESE TIPS?

Visit http://www.coloradobankruptcytraining.com and take advantage of some of the unique, low-cost training options for attorneys and their staff.

Also, subscribe to my articles at: http://chapter7and13bankruptcyblog.com/feed

If you have been following previous emails, Michael Misenheimer and I had to cancel the June seminars in California because no one registered for them.  We both were shocked and wanted to find out why no one was interested in attending.  The training we offered was beyond any other training offered within the industry and the popularity of previous seminars told us that we were doing everything right.  So, what was the problem?

After emailing and talking with about 15 different California bankruptcy attorneys, we were told that the Central District is so busy that attorneys do not have time to attend a seminar right now.

Our first reaction was: What can we do to help?

IDEA FOR TELEPHONE TRAINING

The first idea came from Art Hausmann, a seasoned bankruptcy attorney that attended the Los Angeles Chapter 13 seminar back in August 2009.  Art hired me to provide training to his paralegal, as the paralegal needed it.  In other words, when his paralegal is working on a bankruptcy case, if she has a question she calls or sends me an email.  I either reply to her email or call her in order to help solve the problem.  In addition to solving the issue, I also take the time to train her skills in the process.  Art’s paralegal and I will begin our training starting tomorrow (Monday.)

In the meantime, I talked with Michael about this problem.  He agreed that we should offer other attorneys the same service.  For a fee of $100 per hour, Michael or I will be available by telephone and email to answer your questions.  In fact, we will not even charge a retainer fee to get started. If you try out our service and you do not immediately see results, you owe nothing.  The training can be provided for you or any member of your legal staff.  How much better could this offer be? You have nothing to lose.

Obviously, Michael and I are only two people.  We can only provide our training services to a limited number of attorneys and we are doing this in order to assist the law firms who are in crisis mode at this time.  Please contact us (see contact information at end of this email) to discuss this training option if you are interested.

LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE

Working in law firms, Michael and I are also aware that some law firms do not necessarily need help with petitions, but are severely disorganized due to the huge increase in the workload.

These are precisely the types of problems that Michael and I are experienced in handling because we have worked in a variety of law firms throughout our career.  Please contact us (see contact information at end of this email) so we can analyze your situation, offer a few suggestions and see what we can do to help you improve your law firm efficiency.

CHAPTER 13 PETITION ASSISTANCE

As you may already know, Chapter 13 filings are increasing because the creditors are fighting harder against Chapter 7 filings.  This has created a nitch for paralegals like Michael and me to work with attorneys in improving their Chapter 13 petitions and Plans.  We provide a wide range of services up through the confirmation stage.   And, if you are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado or Atlanta, Georgia, we can even accompany you to court if you need us.  To discuss your Chapter 13 needs, please contact us (see contact information at end of this email.)

We are here to help in any way we can, especially during this time of mortgage crisis and upside down loans.  Remember, we are both skilled in cram downs and strip downs of mortgage loans which can save your client thousands of dollars.

We hope to hear from you soon.  See contact information below.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Victoria Ring Phone: 719-465-2442 Email:  victoriaring@coloradobankruptcytraining.com

Michael Misenheimer Phone: 404-795-9013 Email: mmisenheimer@gmail.com

A quick lesson in the Means Test, Schedule J and the Chapter 13 Plan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoldzGDhV3I