I often talk to nice people and then get a call from them some months or years later, and they want to know how quickly I can file for them.
Well, I can file very quickly indeed. I've got this electronic button, see?
But that's not the real question.
The real question is, how quickly can a bankruptcy be filed so that risk in filing is minimized to a good extent, and a reasonably good result obtained for the client?
For that question, the answer is simple: the client is the limiting factor.
How quickly can a client COMPLETELY fill out the forms online, with a COMPLETE list of creditors and a COMPLETE itemized list of assets, with replacement values determined with a good amount of due diligence on eBay, Zillow and Blue Book?
And how quickly can the client respond to Heidi's questions when she wants to know why they show spending $324.56 per month for gas, and they didn't list owning a car?
And how quickly can the client spend the money in their bank account using a debit card or cashier's checks in the week prior to filing, so that their family can eat and the electricity stays turned on, and the client doesn't have to pay the bankruptcy trustee an extra $4,325.73 that was in the bank account at the instant of filing?
And how quickly can the client read my blog, so the client knows what's going to happen before the filing, at the first meeting of creditors, how long to get the discharge (IF they get a discharge), how long until they actually SEE their discharge, and what happens AFTER the discharge in their bankruptcy case?
We'll talk, but it's a better idea not to wait till the last minute. Because while bankruptcy filings can't normally be optimized like income tax returns, they can be filed and give rise to bad consequences if a client pushes for an immediate filing and doesn't pay attention to the process.
Will I file a bankruptcy case for a client just because a client screams at me to file for them?
Depends. It's a little like setting a bone without the x-rays, but it depends on the facts. And how loud they scream.
But I'll usually just fire 'em as a client.
The same way a bone doc should fire a patient who insists on getting the bone reset without the x-rays.
p.s. This isn't quite clear enough. What happens, in sequence, is that the client takes as little or as much time as they want to fill in their schedules online. Some get 'em done in three days, and some take nine months. Then when they are COMPLETE, and not a minute before, the client hits "send", and the data goes to Heidi, The Bankruptcy Angel.
And there are five schedules at any time ahead of yours, so assume it'll take her a week to review yours after you hit send.
The I have to review it and complain about this, or that, and make sure the client knows that they are going to loose the antique hookah they listed, because it's not exempt.
Then, IF AND ONLY IF THE CLIENT PASSES THE MEANS TEST, we get to file the Chapter 7 for the client.
WE WILL NOT FILE A CHAPTER 7 FOR A CLIENT IF THEY DON'T PASS THE MEANS TEST, BECAUSE THE CASE WILL, NOT MAY, GET DISMISSED. And that's no good for the client.
Just so you know, I've had exactly one case dismissed for abuse since the 2005 Amendments passed; and I'm refiling for that client when he passes the means test.
But I don't want another one, and I sure don't want it to be you.
The alternatives if you don't pass the means test are various, and if have to, we'll talk about them, and we'll figure out how to take care of you under that scenario.
Some people find that they can file for their Chapter 7, but they need to take an unpaid vacation for three weeks before they qualify.
Life's tough under the 2005 Amendments.
Well, I can file very quickly indeed. I've got this electronic button, see?
But that's not the real question.
The real question is, how quickly can a bankruptcy be filed so that risk in filing is minimized to a good extent, and a reasonably good result obtained for the client?
For that question, the answer is simple: the client is the limiting factor.
How quickly can a client COMPLETELY fill out the forms online, with a COMPLETE list of creditors and a COMPLETE itemized list of assets, with replacement values determined with a good amount of due diligence on eBay, Zillow and Blue Book?
And how quickly can the client respond to Heidi's questions when she wants to know why they show spending $324.56 per month for gas, and they didn't list owning a car?
And how quickly can the client spend the money in their bank account using a debit card or cashier's checks in the week prior to filing, so that their family can eat and the electricity stays turned on, and the client doesn't have to pay the bankruptcy trustee an extra $4,325.73 that was in the bank account at the instant of filing?
And how quickly can the client read my blog, so the client knows what's going to happen before the filing, at the first meeting of creditors, how long to get the discharge (IF they get a discharge), how long until they actually SEE their discharge, and what happens AFTER the discharge in their bankruptcy case?
We'll talk, but it's a better idea not to wait till the last minute. Because while bankruptcy filings can't normally be optimized like income tax returns, they can be filed and give rise to bad consequences if a client pushes for an immediate filing and doesn't pay attention to the process.
Will I file a bankruptcy case for a client just because a client screams at me to file for them?
Depends. It's a little like setting a bone without the x-rays, but it depends on the facts. And how loud they scream.
But I'll usually just fire 'em as a client.
The same way a bone doc should fire a patient who insists on getting the bone reset without the x-rays.
p.s. This isn't quite clear enough. What happens, in sequence, is that the client takes as little or as much time as they want to fill in their schedules online. Some get 'em done in three days, and some take nine months. Then when they are COMPLETE, and not a minute before, the client hits "send", and the data goes to Heidi, The Bankruptcy Angel.
And there are five schedules at any time ahead of yours, so assume it'll take her a week to review yours after you hit send.
The I have to review it and complain about this, or that, and make sure the client knows that they are going to loose the antique hookah they listed, because it's not exempt.
Then, IF AND ONLY IF THE CLIENT PASSES THE MEANS TEST, we get to file the Chapter 7 for the client.
WE WILL NOT FILE A CHAPTER 7 FOR A CLIENT IF THEY DON'T PASS THE MEANS TEST, BECAUSE THE CASE WILL, NOT MAY, GET DISMISSED. And that's no good for the client.
Just so you know, I've had exactly one case dismissed for abuse since the 2005 Amendments passed; and I'm refiling for that client when he passes the means test.
But I don't want another one, and I sure don't want it to be you.
The alternatives if you don't pass the means test are various, and if have to, we'll talk about them, and we'll figure out how to take care of you under that scenario.
Some people find that they can file for their Chapter 7, but they need to take an unpaid vacation for three weeks before they qualify.
Life's tough under the 2005 Amendments.
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