Homework before you Talk to your Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney

Before you start clicking on the links in this homework post, read through it. That will give you an idea how long it will take you to click on the links, and do the separate homework assignments represented by the glowing blue words.

Why do I want you to do homework BEFORE you come to see me for the first time? Well, because then you'll have a list of questions for me, and you'll be able to answer my questions about the value of your house and cars, and the amounts of your secured and unsecured debt, and whether you pass the means test, and whether you paid an insider preference, and so on. Because then our meeting will be productive!

First, read the potential Arizona bankruptcy lawyer's blog; presumably your Arizona bankruptcy lawyer thinks that whatever he or she blogged about bankruptcy was important to blog. Or blawg. If you can't stand the lawyer's personality when you're reading the blog, go to a different lawyer. It won't get better. If you're in a hurry, take a look at the top ten questions most often asked of this particular Arizona bankruptcy lawyer.

Many people are in ostrich mode, then transmogrify into The Flash and want to file in twenty minutes! Here's how fast your bankruptcy MAY get filed, if you jump backwards through all the flaming hoops.

Make sure you look at the mandatory legal disclosures required by the 2005 Amendments; I wrote about those on the very first page of my blog, on the right hand side. Look to the right hand side of the home screen of my blog, and scroll down past the Superlawyers and AVVO 10 badges. Then read!

Second, look at the District of Arizona Bankruptcy Court website, and read the faqs, particularly the second set, and very particularly question 15, which provides a list of exempt property in Arizona. That site also has a nice series of videos designed to educate potential debtors about filing. Watch them before you go in to see your lawyer. And there's also a nice discussion of the mandatory pre- and post- credit counseling.

Third, make a summary list of your debts. Your lawyer will want to know whether you are above or below the limits for a Chapter 13, which are listed at 11 USC 109. Add the secured debt and the unsecured debt separately. Do not hand the lawyer a list of your debts, unless you have determined beforehand that he is a human calculator.

Next, make sure you know the drop dead date of any legal proceedings against you; that is, when are you going to be defaulted in that lawsuit you didn't answer? When is the trustee's sale on your house? Those are important issues.

Next, before you go into the lawyer's office, use the free means test calculator at the Nolo.com site; knowing that you don't pass the means test now, but you will pass in two months, is sort of important for everybody. NOTE: I've heard that there are two law firms in town that insist that you must file a Chapter 13, because the legal fees are higher. It's useful for you to know whether they're full of fertilizer if you happen to stumble in there.

Speaking of fees, you probably want to have some idea how much your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy is likely to cost in legal fees, filing fees, and associated expenses like your mandatory pre- and post-filing online credit counseling (thank you, 2005 Bankruptcy Code Amendments!)

Check the value of your vehicles; use the online blue book, and look at the highest value that makes any sense, because a trustee will do just that. The Arizona Automobile Exemption is fairly stingy: $5,000 in equity for the husband, and $5,000 for the wife. Unless you're a cripple, which is not defined in the statute. Then the exemption is $10,000. Note: you can stack the exemptions for yourself and your spouse if one car is worth $10,000 and the other has no equity.

Also go to Zillow.com to check the value of your house, so you can compare that to your mortgages and figure out how much you have in equity. Trustees use Zillow for the same reason you should: it's free! The Arizona Homestead Exemption is fairly generous, so if you keep making payments you should be able to keep the house if you want to do so.

Now, play "20 Questions with a bankruptcy lawyer".

Next, make a written list of YOUR questions, so you can get the maximum benefit from your "getting to know you" visit with your potential lawyer; you'll be distracted by talking to the lawyer, and looking at his or her walls and certificates (but you should already know whether the lawyer you're about to see has credentials like board certification as an Arizona bankruptcy specialist, or is an Arizona bankruptcy lawyer with an AV rating from Martindale, or has a "superb" rating on AVVO, or is a debtor's lawyer listed on Superlawyers.com; or a Former Chair of the Arizona Bar Association Bankruptcy Section, or a Former Chair of the American Bar Association Bankruptcy Committee of the General Practice Section, or whatever else).

If you have a written list of questions, you'll be able to make your first visit more productive. If you ultimately decide you want us to help you, read this, and make it a part of your religion.

Also, when you go in for your first meeting with a bankruptcy lawyer, ARE YOU MEETING WITH A BANKRUPTCY LAWYER, or are you meeting with a salesman? You can tell the difference because the salesman will say, "let me check with our lawyer", or will be wearing a badge that says "non-lawyer" or something similarly silly.

I'm certain that there's a joke in here somewhere, "what's the difference between an Arizona bankruptcy lawyer and a salesman," and I'll try to track it down.

NOTE WELL: I have a pretty office next to the Biltmore Golf Course. It's got a bunch of glass panels and low-hanging certificates, with matte paint that doesn't wash very well. Putting it another way, it's not a child-proof office, so please make arrangements for a babysitter and don't bring your kids to my office. The last one kicked the heck out of the wall and every time I see the scars on the wall, I'm reminded what a cute little rascal that was!

NOTE BETTER: If you have a cold, stay home, and we'll do a phone conference!!

P.S. If you think you're going to need to need to file soon, it's probably a good idea to stop using your credit cards because of the presumption of nondischargeability for credit card use for 90 days prior to the filing. And if you're in a hurry to file, I want you to start thinking about the perfect day to file your bankruptcy case.

This is sort of an important post, so I'll tinker with it to make it more complete over time.

p.s. as your final homework assignment, if you decide you want to meet with me, go to Google maps, Yahoo maps, and Mapquest, so you can find my office. It's right next door to the golf course at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, but some people seem to have trouble finding it. To call to set up an appointment, call 602-297-3025. And DO NOT call me for directions, because if I give you directions, you'll wind up in Fairbanks, Alaska!

p.p.s. If you decide you want to file a bankruptcy, and you want us to help you, that's wonderful. And we have a nifty online system so you don't need to worry as much about mistyping as in the old days. But before you hit "send" on our online filing system, read this!

p.p.p.s. EXTRA CREDIT PROJECT: IF you want to know how your whole bankruptcy process is going to flow, take a quick look at the timeline for your bankruptcy case.

p.p.p.p.s. You get NO extra credit, but it always makes me happy when people tell me how I can improve my website.

Here's the last, last, last item, and it's not even exactly related to bankruptcy. I'd just as soon you don't die anytime soon. I just lost a veternarian, and a buddy named Larry, and a few other folks I'd rather still be able to talk to from time to time. So I started a little blog about health and longevity. You don't have to read it, and always talk to your doctor about vitamins and supplements and diet rather than talking to a bankruptcy lawyer. But if you read it, it might give you a couple of additional questions to ask your doc!