Bankruptcy

Doing Research On Az Bankruptcy Information Before Filing Bankruptcy is Very Good; But It Won't Turn You into an Experienced AZ Bankruptcy Lawyer!

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

Here's why!

When you start to play chess, you learn the names of the pieces. Knight, King, Bishop, and a lot of other names.

When you start accumulating knowledge about Arizona bankruptcy information, you do the same thing. You learn "secured creditor", "unsecured creditor", "Arizona bankruptcy exemptions" and non-bankruptcy exemptions, and a lot of other names.

When you start to play chess, after you learn the names, then you learn where the pieces start on the board, and then you learn how the pieces move on the board. You learn that a pawn takes diagonally, and in passing. You learn that a knight can jump over pieces to reach its opponent. You learn how to "fork".

It's the same when you're starting to learn about consumer bankruptcy in Arizona, or commercial. You learn what a secured creditor can do to collect his debt, and what a judgment holder can do that mere unsecured creditor cannot. You learn how an unsecured creditor becomes a judgment creditor, and how it then becomes a lien holder if it takes the next steps. You learn when a second lien holder will start a trustee's sale, and when it will file a lawsuit instead. You learn what property you have is exempt outside of bankruptcy, and what is not exempt in bankruptcy, and what is; and you learn that Arizona is a Federal Exemption "opt-out" state, but in some cases, those are the applicable exemptions in an Arizona bankruptcy case!

Although that is a little on the post-graduate bankruptcy law and practice side, really!

After you learn the basics of chess, you get to play chess for real, with a live opponent. And you will get your behind kicked. Off. And often!

And that's precisely why it's a pretty good idea that after you read every single blog entry on my consumer bankruptcy blog here, and after you do all the homework on this consumer bankruptcy blog, you visit with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer in Arizona, because, darn.

It's one thing to lose a game of chess. And you will lose many games of chess on your way to becoming a capable chess player. And you'll still lose if you don't pay attention, or if you're playing a master, or if you start down four pawns.

So do you really want to pit yourself against a bank's bankruptcy specialist, who has experience for twenty years, doing the same kind of lawsuits and trustee's sales and debtor's exams again and again and again, after she went to law school?

My strong suggestion (and you certainly don't have to listen to me, because so few do!) is that you do some research on experienced bankruptcy lawyers in Arizona, because the world is full of instant bankruptcy experts these days, as well as bankruptcy mills and dabblers in Arizona bankruptcy law.

So research the experience, credentials, background, testimonials from clients, AVVO rating, Martindale rating, board certification, and everything else you can find about a potential bankruptcy attorney for you in Arizona.

And then talk to them, and see if you can stand them, because you'll be working with them for a long while, because the process of planning, putting together, filing and moving through a bankruptcy in Arizona is going to take at least a year.

And if they try to force you to hire them during the first meeting (that is, if they try to close you as though you were buying a used car, instead of figuring out whether they can help fix your problems), don't retain them!

Find somebody who knows enough to answer your questions, and who you think can fix the problems that come up during the course of your bankruptcy case.

Because maybe it's a speed bump, and maybe it's a brick wall. And you need to be prepared for both in your bankruptcy in Arizona.

And you must be prepared for the bankruptcy itself to be a pain in the neck, without question; because there is no such thing as an easy bankruptcy after the 2005 Amendments to the Bankruptcy Code!

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 July 27, 2010 (boomark / email).