Tag: Bankruptcy Attorney

How do I get a free credit report?

Posted on by Sean Wood in Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Attorney, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Credit Report, Payday Loans

How do I get a free credit report?

Short answer: go to www.annualcreditreport.com and request a free credit report.

19 creditOne of the most important things you need to do when preparing for a bankruptcy is to identify all your creditors. You are required to list all of your debts and creditors on the bankruptcy petition. I’ve had a number of clients ask me ‘how do I identify all of my creditors?’

The best place to start is with a credit report. Credit reports are not perfect and they don’t list all of your debts but for most people the credit report will include most of your debts. There, however, are some items that are usually not reported on your credit report. Pay day loan companies, for example, generally do not go to the effort to report these loans to the credit bureaus. Small businesses also rarely report debts. That is why I recommend to my clients that they keep a stack of all the bills and legal documents they have received.

Is it your bankruptcy attorney’s job to identify all your debts? People ask me this all the time and the answer is ‘no’. Not only is not his job, it’s also impossible for your attorney to identify all your debts. Your bankruptcy attorney can pull a credit report for you but, as I mentioned before, not all debts will be listed on your credit report. The person who knows your debts best, is you.

I always pull a credit report for my clients for a couple of reasons. First, I want to be sure I can identify as many debts as possible. Second, people often don’t keep track of lawsuits or judgments filed against them. Third, and most importantly, I can import all the data from the credit report into the software I use to create the bankruptcy petition which saves me huge amounts of time. As a side note, years ago, when I was a mere legal clerk, I used to manually enter in the data from credit reports into the computer. It was horrible. My eyes and my fingers hated me for it.

Although I pull credit reports for my clients, I encourage them to get and print out a copy of their credit report for our initial consultation. It helps both me and my clients figure out what debts they have.

Once a year you can order your free credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com. It’s a good idea, whether you are considering bankruptcy or not, to review your credit report to make sure there are no errors.

Dance Moms Star Abby Lee Miller is Indicted for Bankruptcy Fraud

Posted on by Sean Wood in Bankruptcy

When I was dating my wife I thought that we had similar tastes in TV shows and movies. It was only after we were married that I realized that we have very, very different tastes in media. But that’s ok, we both humor each other and will watch and try to enjoy what the other wants to watch.

14 Abby Lee Miller

One of the TV shows that I don’t care for, but my wife absolutely loves, is “Dance Moms”. For the life of me, I cannot understand what is appealing about this show. The plot more or less exactly the same every episode. The parents’ behavior is akin to the behavior you see on The Jerry Springer Show (I almost linked to a youtube video showing highlights of The Jerry Springer Show but I thought it might be inappropriate for a legal blog; oh well). And the host’s voice, Abby Lee Miller, is grating to my ears. But, alas, my wife enjoys this show.

I was surprised to see, then, in the news that Abby Lee Miller was charged with bankruptcy fraud. Apparently she did not disclose all of her income when she filed her bankruptcy petition. The best part is how Judge Thomas Agresti found out about the income.

“‘He was clicking through the channels one night and saw Ms. Miller’s ‘Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition,’ ads for ‘The Maniac is Back’ and her appearance on ‘American Idol.’ ‘I realized that there’s an awful lot of money coming into this plan, this case,’ the judge said during a 2013 hearing, ‘and it hasn’t been disclosed.'”

I occasionally have clients that do not want to disclose certain income, transfers, or assets on their bankruptcy petition. This is a very bad idea. Rule 9011 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure states that an attorney must make a reasonable inquiry into the client’s situation and circumstances. Any good bankruptcy attorney will not sign a petition that does not fully disclose all the information requested on the petition. Be sure to be honest and truthful with your bankruptcy attorney.

How do bankruptcy attorneys get paid?

Posted on by Sean Wood in Bankruptcy

Short answer for chapter 7: bankruptcy attorneys get paid in full by the debtor before the case is filed.

Short answer for chapter 13: bankruptcy attorneys get paid through the chapter 13 plan.

Better Call Saul

This is a common question I get and it is understandable why people would be confused by this. This question comes to me somewhat like this: “How can someone who needs to file for bankruptcy afford to pay an attorney? Attorneys are expensive!”

In a chapter 7 bankruptcy there are two fees you must pay: the attorney’s fees and the Court filing fee. Many firms, including my own, require that the attorney’s fees be paid in full before we file the bankruptcy petition.

People contemplating filing for bankruptcy are usually paying bills to unsecured creditors or the wages are being garnished. When you file a bankruptcy all those payments stop. I advise people to stop paying their credit card bills or medical bills and instead pay me.

In a chapter 13 there are also two fees that you must pay: the attorney’s fees and the Court filing fee. Each case is a little bit different but generally chapter 13 attorneys require between $400 and $800 upfront. This will cover the Court filing fee and will compensate the attorney for some of his time. The rest of the attorney’s fees are paid through the chapter 13 plan.