Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Options in Mesa, Phoenix, Scottdale, Chandler, Tempe, Paradise Valley and the rest of AZ

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

That's why the most common question I've gotten recently, whether by phone, email or in person, is "I was just thinking about bankruptcy. And I was wondering what my options were."

Yeah, I know those are phrased as statements.

"What are my bankruptcy options? What bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy options do I have?"

I hope the grammarians are happy now.

What I normally do when asked about options is to direct people to read the homework on my blog, because it causes folks to discover values of their assets, and organize their debt and income and expense information.

Generally, once somebody looks at the facts, the options, whether in Bankruptcy Court in Arizona or outside of it, become much clearer.

It doesn't take an AV rated, AVVO 10, board certified bankruptcy specialist lawyer to understand, when it's down in black and white, that you're spending more every month than is coming in the front door.

And it doesn't take an experienced bankruptcy lawyer to figure out that if you have credit cards running at 38% interest, and you're making minimum payments, you'll NEVER pay them off making minimum payments. Can you spell negative amortization? Neither can I; I used spellchecker.

You also don't need to be the best qualified bankruptcy lawyer in Arizona to figure out that your house is no longer an investment; it's a money pit, or Black Hole in money, as a rocket scientist bankruptcy lawyer might say.

And don't get me started on cars that cost an arm and a leg. Right now, we're in a depression, so after the bankruptcy, buying a new car for cash, and getting a great deal, should be a walk in the bankruptcy park.

My very favorite endgame for a bankruptcy debtor works like this: the debtor, after the discharge, has positive cash flow, and has it BECAUSE she's received a discharge of all dischargeable debts in the bankruptcy, AND has decided to let the car and the house (both MASSIVELY underwater, with MASSIVE negative equity) go.

So on the other side of the bankruptcy, this hypothetical debtor has cash flow from a job, has a car with NO PAYMENTS they she paid for with cash, and is living in a lovely rental house (there are plenty all over Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Glendale, Paradise Valley, Chandler and everyplace else)for a modest payment.

Putting it another way, the debtor has expenses that are half of the debtor's income, and the debtor gets to take the overage and split THAT in half, and use one half to stuff into a tax-sheltered investment vehicle and the other half for self-improvement (classes to increase their value in the job market) or going on cruises, which are selling at a deep, deep discount these days!

Can we get everybody there?

Well, no.

Some folks are so attached to their two-hundred thousand dollar house with the four-hundred thousand dollar mortgage that they are going to stay until they die or the trustee's sale, whichever comes first.

The client, after all, is the dog. The lawyer, even the bankruptcy lawyer, is merely the tail.

But I sure wish I could get all of my bankruptcy clients on cruises after the process. It would be good for their souls, I think. Not as good as Church on Sunday, of course, but good nonetheless.

NOTHING HERE CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12. FIND AN ARIZONA BANKRUPTCY LAWYER WHO IS BOARD CERTIFIED IN BANKRUPTCY LAW, AV RATED, AVVO 10 RATED, ON SUPERLAWYERS, OR JUST VERY EXPERIENCED AND A FORMER CHAIR OF SOME BANKRUPTCY SECTION OR COMMITTEE. NOTHING HERE MAY BE USED AS LEGAL ADVICE IN CONNECTION WITH ANY BANKRUPTCY, WHETHER THAT BANKRUPTCY IS IN PHOENIX, GLENDALE, TEMPE, MESA, SCOTTSDALE, OR ANYWHERE ELSE.

Full post as published by Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog on May 07, 2010 (boomark / email).