Bankruptcy

Am I Eligible to File for Bankruptcy in Arizona? Am I Permitted to File a Chapter 7 or 13 or 11 Bankruptcy in Arizona?

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

There was still a strong perceived stigma associated with bankruptcy, and that kept people from filing.

There was exactly zero television advertising by bankruptcy lawyers or debt negotiation companies, and lawyer advertising itself was in its infancy; Bates had just been decided, so now lawyers could advertise, but we did it cautiously because nobody knew the outer limits of ethical advertising, and we wanted to color inside the lines.

Back in those days, there was no means test as a gatekeeper into a consumer Chapter 7 bankruptcy; there was also no U.S. Trustee's Office as a subdivision of the U.S. Attorney's Office.

And there were only three U.S. Bankruptcy Judges in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix.

And you could use Chapter 13 to get a superdischarge for your clients, and the total payout could be a dollar.

And many student loans could be easily scraped off.

It was wonderful.

The system still works, but it was easier for consumer debtors to get a fresh start when they filed bankruptcy back in the good old days, formerly known as these trying times.

Of course, there was no Internet, and the filings had to be done with something you may have heard about. It was called "paper".

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 June 10, 2010 (boomark / email).