Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy Blog

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

View changes at:  http://www.mybankruptcyschool.com/

We are now into our third online bankruptcy school class.  Two problems I have found is that (1) some people are unable to attend all the classes for the course they registered for; and (2) with every class, I am developing new training materials and adding it to the course materials.  Since I want to make sure everyone has access to the same tools as future students, I decided to add a method of solving these two problems.

YOU CAN NOW ENROLL AT ANY TIME

Here’s how it works:

There are two components to every Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy course:

Component 1

Once you pay your registration fee you are granted immediate access to the online school where you can watch videos, listen to audios from previous classes, download all the training materials, take the class exercises and online quizzes.  This way, you can learn at your own pace regardless of when the live, instructor-led classes begin.

Component 2

The second component is the LIVE, instructor-led online classes.  We have ongoing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 classes that are offered every month.  That way, if you miss a class, you can attend any that you missed in future months when the same class is given.

IN FACT . . .

As a registered student you receive THREE MONTHS OF FREE ACCESS after you enroll in our courses.  This means that you can attend all the live classes a total of 4 times if you wish.  Plus, you have access to all new training materials that are developed for future classes since you are able to login and use the system up to ninety (90) days after your enrollment month.

GET STARTED TODAY and learn the skills you need to improve the services you provide to clients and protect the debtor in the best manner possible.  These are important skills that are rarely taught in any other legal course.  Take advantage of the opportunity to get started now.  Visit:

http://www.mybankruptcyschool.com

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

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

Disclaimer: The information in this article is for training purposes only.  This article is written by Victoria Ring, a certified paralegal and bankruptcy specialist, who is not an attorney.

Normally when I work with attorneys on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions, debtors want to keep everything they own even if they are unable to afford the payment.  However, today, I encountered just the opposite.

A little over two months ago I prepared a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition for an attorney I work with in the District of Colorado.  The debtor had three older motor vehicles and was 11 months behind on their mortgage.  We were able to propose a cram down to save the debtor about $85,000 on their mortgage as well as cram down on the motor vehicles, thus saving the debtor another $28,000.

The petition was finalized and everything was ready to be filed when the debtor called the attorney to say he was going to surrender two of the motor vehicles.  Because this was only the second petition my attorney had worked on, he naturally thought this would be a good thing for the debtor to do and did not see how it would affect the debtor in a bad way.  Therefore, he approved the transaction and emailed me to so I could update the bankruptcy petition.

WHY WOULD A DEBTOR GIVE UP ASSETS?

It is always helpful to understand why debtors do certain things because it will equip you to handle similar situations in the future.  Therefore, you may be wondering why a debtor would want to give up assets (such as the motor vehicles) when they are filing Chapter 13.  Through my many years of experience, I have often found that the core of the problem is normally derived from bad bankruptcy advice from non-attorneys.

When a person files bankruptcy, they will discuss their personal business with family, friends and neighbors BEFORE they will pick up the phone and ask their attorney for legal advice that they paid for.  And as you know, people who are not attorneys love to give legal advice.  It makes them feel important and knowledgeable.  However, you will find that family, friends and neighbors almost always tell horror stories about assets being taken in the middle of the night and people having to live on the street because they lost their home.  These stories often scare debtors and they will lose sight of what is logical and what is not.

Therefore, attorneys and their law staff need to be aware that this is a common problem when dealing with debtors and make it a point to educate their debtors and answer questions for them as it relates to their case.  A more informed debtor will make life much easier on the attorney and their law firm.

TIP: As a new bankruptcy attorney, you may not have all the answers.  That is why you may want to have your debtors watch some of the videos produced by the Federal Bankruptcy Court, which are excellent in answering many of the questions debtors have about bankruptcy.  The link to these videos is at: http://www.uscourts.gov/video/bankruptcybasics/bankruptcyBasics.html

Another good piece of advice to always keep in mind is that people only make changes when they believe the change is going to benefit them.  Therefore, someone has told this particular debtor that it would save them money if they gave up their motor vehicles.  But like all bad advice, this is not always the case.

IF A DEBTOR GIVES UP AN ASSET, DOES THIS SAVE THEM MONEY?

In the bankruptcy case concerning the Chapter 13 debtor I worked with, the debtor actually caused harm to himself by giving up the motor vehicles.  Here is the breakdown to understand why:

Car No. 1 – Market Value = $6,125.00 Lien Amount: $10,640.00 Cram Down saved debtor: $4,515 Benefit in Chapter 13: Monthly payment would have only been $102.00 because the debt would have been paid prorata over the life of the Plan.

Car No. 2 – Market Value = $5,065.00 Lien Amount: $11,687.00 Cram Down saved debtor: $6,622.00 Benefit in Chapter 13: Monthly payment would have only been $85.00 because the debt would have been paid prorata over the life of the Plan.

THE PROBLEMS THAT DEVELOPED FOR THE DEBTOR As you can see from the data above, filing a Chapter 13 would have benefitted the debtor in several ways in regard to his motor vehicles.  However, by surrendering them, the debtor loses all benefit from the use of the vehicles as well as the financial savings from the cram down.

Secondly, the debtor also could have qualified under 722Redemption.Com to upgrade the vehicles and improve his situation.

Thirdly, the debtor lost the monthly IRS expense allowance which was $950.00 for three motor vehicles but only $260 for one.  This alone increased the Chapter 13 Plan payment by an additional $690 per month.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EXTRA MONEY?

When the debtor gave up the two motor vehicles, naturally he no longer made a payment to the lienholder.  This gave the debtor an extra $550.00 per month which was applied to the UNSECURE creditors.  Instead of the debtor being in a 15 percent Chapter 13 Plan, they were now in a 30 percent Chapter 13 Plan; which means that the debtor is paying MORE money to the unsecured creditors but gave up a secure asset in the process.

Also, notice that if the debtor would have kept the vehicles, the debts could have been paid PRORATA over the 60 month life of the Chapter 13 Plan.  This reduced the payments from $550 per month to only $187.00.  Again, the debtor lost again by surrendering the motor vehicles.

TIP TO HELP PREVENT SITUATIONS LIKE THIS FROM HAPPENING TO YOUR CLIENTS

Regardless if you are a new attorney or a seasoned attorney, you should never provide a client with a definite yes or no answer until you have had the opportunity to examine the issue from all angles.  I was at a legal seminar one time and an attorney said: Attorneys never answer questions with yes or no; they always answer with – IT DEPENDS.  The other attorneys in the room laughed, but all of us is aware this is an excellent response if you need more time to research the issue.

Therefore, instead of feeling like you are trapped into providing bankruptcy advice when you are unsure what that advice entails; listen to the client and make sure you get all the facts.  Tell your client that you will need to review their case before you can provide them with an answer.  Assure them that every bankruptcy case is different and what may work for one person may not work for them.  This will provide you with some extra time to either research and get the answer online, contact an attorney mentor, or contact our office at 719-659-0743 and we will try to help you.

NETWORKING WITH BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEYS

As a new bankruptcy attorney or an experienced attorney new to bankruptcy, you may want to join the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and the American Bar Association.  Both of these organizations provide you with access to a wide range of tools including the ability to join private forums and ask questions to experienced attorneys.

Another way to network is to find out if your local Bar Association offers classes and meetings for bankruptcy attorneys.  If so, make sure you attend and pass out your business card.  Not only is this a terrific way to find attorneys who are mentors but also you build your practice by accepting referrals from other attorneys who are often overloaded with Chapter 7 and 13 work.

A final suggestion is to join a social networking group such as LinkedIn and join all the bankruptcy attorney groups.  From your LinkedIn profile, click on GROUPS and do searches on the key words: bankruptcy attorney, bankruptcy court, chapter 7 attorney and chapter 13 attorney.  LinkedIn provides you with the ability to join up to 50 groups, so join as many as you possibly can.  Once you are a member, you can post questions to other attorneys and get help.

REFERENCE LINKS

http://www.linkedin.com http://www.nacba.org http://www.abiworld.org http://www.hg.org/northam-bar.html

TRAINING REFERENCE

http://www.bankruptcytrainingproducts.com/home/web-and-teleconference-training Have a wonderful week and keep working on ways to improve your skills in Chapter 7 and 13.

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

I just placed a free 1 hour training audio containing various tips and techniques for preparing Chapter 13 petitions and plans. It should be a great benefit to you and your clients. There is no hidden costs and you can download it free at: http://www.coloradobankruptcytraining.com/audio01.html

Most attorneys are already aware that there are very few training options available for bankruptcy attorneys pertaining to Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy petitions. In law school, the focus is mainly on Chapter 11s and business-related filings.  Not only is consumer law often overlooked in law school, but until recently, bankruptcy was not an area of law that carried much weight or prestige.

In the past, attorneys and their staff had no option except to be trained either on the job (through the trial and error method of making mistakes) or from experienced people who had the time to train them.  However, because of the record number of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions being filed today, bankruptcy is booming.  Therefore, the option of learning by trial and error or being taught by experienced people is an option not readily available to most law firms today. In addition, bankruptcy courts in every state spend a great deal of time finding and fixing errors caused by new and inexperienced attorneys and their personnel.  All of this combined will waste time and money which is why many courts are becoming more strict with their procedures.

But there is a very bad side to this issue also.  Some attorneys have actually been sanctioned and either paid high restitution fees or lost their license to practice law simply because the attorney and the staff were not properly trained and repeatedly filed inaccurate or fraudulent petitions.  Some of these attorneys became paralegals and continued to work inside law firms and others will get out of the profession altogether.

This problem needed fixed and it needed to be fixed fast!!

In a sincere effort to help address these problems, Victoria Ring (the developer of the virtual bankruptcy assistant industry) and Michael Misenheimer (a certified paralegal who is entering law school this Fall) have joined forces.  They have developed a dynamic training curriculum that has literally transformed business for bankruptcy attorneys nationwide.  Together, Victoria and Michael are able to provide bankruptcy attorneys with the skills they need to streamline their practice and increase profits for their law firms.

Keeping costs to a reasonable $275 per person, an attorney can easily afford to attend with their staff and everyone will gain from the knowledge that both Michael and Victoria teach.  Unlike typical seminars and workshops, Michael and Victoria take a different approach to training by making their seminars unique and unlike others you may have attended in the past.

For example:

1.  The information taught in the Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars is NOT taught in any other seminar, workshop or training program. This is because the materials have been personally compiled from many years of working in the field as well as advanced training from attorneys, judges and trustees.

2.  The Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars are causal, relaxed and interactive. In fact, attendees are encouraged to ask questions and participate in the ongoing discussion.  This type of atmosphere promotes a higher level of learning.

3.  Networking is one of the prime goals of the Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars.  In fact, in previous seminars, long-lasting business relationships have developed just from attending.  This is because the Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars place great emphasis on working together and feeding off the knowledge of everyone present. This results in an atmosphere that helps to promote maximum retention levels.

4.  All attendees receive a wealth of information in the form of handouts that they can use to take back to the law firm and immediately put to use.

Bankruptcy Attorney Seminar Overview

The Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars are structured to cover TWO days (Friday and Saturday.)  Attorneys and their staff may attend either day or both days and save $100.  A single day registration is only $275 per person with discounts when two or more are attending from the same law firm.

Day 1 of the Seminar (Friday)

* Bankruptcy petition preparation skills and tips to make your job faster * Demonstrations of how to propose mortgage cram downs and strip downs * Tips for improving your Chapter 13 Plan preparation skills * Techniques to help you reduce deficiency notices after the bankruptcy petition is filed * How to work better with creditors as well as how to better protect the debtor

Day 2 of the Seminar (Saturday)

* Client intake interview tips to help reveal information that could make or break a case * Procedural and operational techniques to maximize office efficiency * Methods for turning free consultations into paying clients * Easy to understand web page development suggestions * Marketing your law firm via the internet and social networking

To find out more about these seminars, visit http://www.bankruptcyattorneyseminars.com

I just returned from the Bankruptcy Training and Marketing Seminar, held at the Best Western Airport East Hotel in Hapeville, Georgia; a suburb of Atlanta.  Eight people (including two attorneys) attended the Marketing Seminar portion on April 23 and Nineteen people (including five attorneys) attended the Training Seminar portion on April 24.

April 23 – Marketing Portion

Due to the small number in attendance, the eight people received more hands-on training compared to larger seminars we have had in the past.  In fact, I personally prefer working with a smaller group when I teach marketing because I can individually address specific concerns and give precise direction so that the attendee can go home and put ideas into action immediately.

One of the main points I always make in my marketing seminars is to teach people to wake up every morning and say: What can I do to make money today?  Instead, many people begin their virtual business day with negative comments, like:  I do not feel confident. I am afraid to advertise. It is too soon for me to make a website, etc.  I found out a long time ago that the ONLY way to be successful is to think thoughts that will make you successful.  If you begin each day by asking yourself, What can I do to make money today? … you will find that you begin looking for ways to make money.  This line of thinking will make you successful.  The other line of thinking will make you unsuccessful.

Clay Holland also spoke at the Marketing portion of the seminar.  He explained, step-by-step, everything he did to become a successful virtual bankruptcy assistant.  Clay is excellent at relating to other virtual bankruptcy assistants (VBA) because he had absolutely no prior legal experience before he became a VBA.  I, on the other hand, was trained in the law firms and received my training from attorneys, judges and trustees.  This is why Clay can relate much better to the VBAs and he is doing a tremendous job managing 713Training.

At the Marketing seminar, two attorneys flew in from Chicago, Illinois. These attorneys had been very successful at building their law firm in a market saturated by bankruptcy attorneys.  They contributed a great deal to the marketing round table discussion and everyone learned from their knowledge also.  This is one reason I always try to conduct the training seminars in an informal type of format.

Throughout my legal career, meetings became second nature for me.  Some meetings would be boring because only one person would talk.  I do not care how interesting a person is; if one person does all the talking and does not interact with their audience, anything they say becomes boring after awhile.  This is why I pattern all my seminars on interaction.  The result provides attendees with a much better understanding and comprehension versus a long, boring lecture.

April 24 – Bankruptcy

Nineteen people were in attendance for the Bankruptcy portion of the seminar, including five attorneys.  We began the day by having everyone introduce themselves and briefly describe their knowledge of Chapter 7s.  Because I customize every seminar to the needs of the audience, this feedback allows me to address specific topics that will provide the best level of training for those in attendance.  Since everyone in the group already had a basic knowledge of Chapter 7s, I was able to immediately move into training the overall conversion from a Chapter 7 to a Chapter 13 as well as cover cram down and strip down training.

Michael Misenheimer spoke for a few minutes about how the foreclosure process works.  Then he opened the floor for questions.  Pamela Starr provided an insight into the corporate side of her own personal experience and Michael opened the floor for questions and addressed specific issues relating to debtor and creditor bankruptcy; which he has a vast amount of experience in.

Summary

We would love to meet you at a future Bankruptcy Training Seminar. For more information and to view the calendar of upcoming events, visit: http://www.bankruptcyattorneyseminars.com

Due to the rapid growth of the debtor bankruptcy industry, it has become necessary to separate 713Training and 713Attorney.

From 2004 to 2010 these companies served two separate markets. 713Training provides training and support for virtual bankruptcy assistants and 713Attorney provides training and support for the debtor bankruptcy attorneys.  For the past several years, Victoria Ring has been able to manage both of them with occasional support from virtual assistants she hired to answer phones and fill orders.  But at the alarming rate the bankruptcy industry is growing, a point occurred where the companies had to be separated or both of them would suffer.

Therefore, on February 1, 2010; Clay Holland of MyBankruptcyAssistant.Com will take over the management of 713Training.  Victoria Ring will then have the ability to direct her attention solely to the training and support of debtor bankruptcy attorneys and their law firms through 713Attorney.

HOW TO STAY CONNECTED TO VICTORIA RING

1.  Visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/coloradovictoria 2.  Click:  ADD VICTORIA TO YOUR NETWORK 3.  If you are not already logged into LinkedIn you will be asked to login 4.  When prompted to type in an email address, use:  victoriaring@lawyer.com 5.  Send the email invitation

If you are already subscribed to the 713Training LinkedIn list, by all means, DO NOT UNSUBSCRIBE.  Clay Holland works as a virtual bankruptcy assistant, who is also assisting an attorney in building his law practice; therefore, Clay has a great deal of knowledge to share with the group that will be beneficial to you.

I apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause but this is the procedure that LinkedIn has in place to prevent you from being subscribed to a network for an individual you are not interested in following.

Additional changes are being made to compensate for the rapid growth of 713Training and 713Attorney.  Make sure you stay connected for updated details.

Victoria Ring, CEO http://www.713Training.Com http://www.713Attorney.Com