How Do You Help Clients Set Their Minds At Ease And Support Them During Bankruptcy?
A large portion of our responsibility is getting people to focus on the future and getting them excited about what their financial life can look like after the bankruptcy is complete. It’s really sad when someone files for bankruptcy and doesn’t take advantage of it. We want clients who file to take advantage of it and undertake a very purposeful and thoughtful plan, so we provide a list of reading materials and CDs. We really want our clients to think about what they will do after they got rid of the debt. The first thing people generally ask me is how they can get credit cards again, and I tell them they shouldn’t want one or if they really needed one, to opt for one with a low limit.
How Does Your Firm Handle Charges for Consultations And Then Cases?
We do not currently charge for a consultation, although we used to in the past. When we sit down with the client and look at their situation, we provide them with four, five or six possible solutions and we will quote them a flat fee depending on the bankruptcy solution they think will be best for them. This way, I know what I am being paid and they know what they know that they’re being charged.
Most bankruptcy attorneys take payments on their fees but hold off on filing the case until they had been paid in full, since if the client owed them money when they filed, they would not have to pay the balance after the filing. Any attorney of any quality will insist on payment in full before the case is filed.
What Sets Your Firm Apart In Handling These Bankruptcy Cases?
We have unparalleled experience and commitment to our clients to get them turned around and on to their fresh start and a new financial path; there are very few firms that can say they have a former bankruptcy trustee as part of their firm.
What Are Major Red Flags To Look Out For When Searching For a Bankruptcy Attorney?
It would be a red flag if an attorney had not practiced bankruptcy law for a while, as would another attorney who had filed a huge number of bankruptcies in a relatively short period of time. It’s also a red flag if the attorney doesn’t focus on bankruptcy only and practiced in a lot of other areas, or if the attorney wanted to meet the client somewhere other than an office that seemed like a reasonable work environment. Being asked to meet the attorney at the 7-Eleven is a red flag.
What Chapters Of Bankruptcy Do You Typically Handle?
Most people are typically concerned with three types of bankruptcy; the first is Chapter 7, which is a straight bankruptcy or liquidation, and constitutes about 80-85 percent of all bankruptcy cases filed. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the person will show up at a first meeting of creditors and if the trustee sees no assets to administer or sell, they will file a no-asset report and the case will usually be closed within about 4 months, giving them a start fresh. A corporation filing a Chapter 7 will essentially legally cease to exist and become defunct. It will still technically be there but it would have no authority to conduct further business. Individuals will get a discharge, whereas corporations won’t; they essentially just die.
Chapter 13 is called a wage earner’s plan or adjustment of debts, which means a debtor will propose a repayment of debt, either in full or in part, over a period of 3-5 years and they will have to make monthly payments for that long.
What Types Of People Do You Think You Can Help Most?
My typical clients are professionals and small businesses; people with unique issues or those looking to discharge taxes in bankruptcy. Someone making $20,000 a year with $10,000 worth of debt would probably not want to pay what it costs to hire me. Although we are within the realm of average fees, we are on the high side of that range.
We want to emphasize the trustee experience and the experience of being devoted to our practice for so many years, as well as our success rate and our emphasis on helping people after they have gone through the bankruptcy, because I think it’s important that they don’t end up back in the same boat. For that reason, I give every client a CD, “10 ways to prosper and avoid bankruptcy in the future.”
