I've been a bankruptcy lawyer in Arizona for about thirty years, and one of the things that I've noticed over the years is that intelligent people get so overwhelmed before they come to visit with me is that they never thought about organizing their information so I could reach conclusion and help them.
So often, they would need to come back to visit multiple times before I could determine whether I could help them, which I have to do before I accept them as an Arizona Bankruptcy Client, after all!
So I built some homework, which is designed so that a potential bankruptcy debtor can organize information prior to visiting with a bankruptcy lawyer in Arizona, whether they live in Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Casa Grande or Paradise Valley.
So here is much of my post about organizing your information (really, it's bankruptcy homework, but the good news is that it's not Remedial Bankruptcy Homework!).
So look at it, and enjoy!
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Why do I want you to do homework BEFORE you come to see me for the first time? Because then our meeting may be productive! If you don't do the homework, I can sympathize with you, but I can't tell whether I can help you very much. Kinda like a doctor and the x-rays. You can't set the arm without the x-rays, you know?
Seriously. Want help? Do the homework!
And as a quick preliminary issue, who am I and why should you retain me to help you? If you've already done extensive credential and experience and qualification and specialized training and certification and testimonial comparisons, ignore this issue. Many consumer bankruptcy clients don't care much about credentials, and go straight to the client reviews, but some business clients do care about Board Certification, AV rating, and so on. I would, but that's just me.
Then take a look at the top ten questions most often asked of this particular Arizona bankruptcy lawyer. Why? Well, because otherwise, you'll ask me those questions during our first half-hour meeting, and I'll know you didn't do your homework! And then it's time for the Cone of Shame!
Now, play "20 Questions with a Bankruptcy Lawyer". You can watch the video, or you can read through the text, but make sure you tell me if any issue here applies to you (note: this isn't what you print out for me; this is the part where you tell me during our talk if any of these issues apply to you!).
Next, subscribe to my bankruptcy blog (it's free, and you can unsubscribe any time you want); I want you to subscribe, because you may be a client for five years, and this is one way you can find out about changes in the law sooner than other people! You'll see a little subscribe box below. Do it now! You know you want to!
Next, make a written list of YOUR questions, so you can get the maximum benefit from your initial half-hour "getting to know you" visit with me (you may wind up talking to my brilliant young bankruptcy lawyer associate Nina the Unpronounceable if I'm in Court or jammed up, but that's only if you're lucky; I never hire anybody unless they're smarter than I am).
NOTE WELL: I have a pretty office next to the Biltmore Golf Course at the top of the rise. It's got a bunch of glass panels and low-hanging certificates, with matte paint that doesn't wash off 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 he was!
NOTE BETTER: If you have a cold, stay home, and we'll do a phone conference!!
Go to my Google Place Page so you can find my office. It's right next door to the golf course at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, at the top of the rise, but every now and then some people seem to have trouble finding it.
If you prefer to watch videos to reading, here's my YouTube Channel with a buncha educational bankruptcy videos, and those will answer a bunch of specific questions you may have. And if you want to watch videos on my new bankruptcy video blog, go for it!
Finally, PRINT OUT THE FORM BELOW completely and bring it with you when you come to see me! The form below is for my office's analysis only, and is not the very long, semi-horrible form you'll be filling out so I can file a bankruptcy for you.
Thanks!
Joseph
POTENTIAL CLIENT INTAKE WORKSHEET
Name:____________________________________________
Street address: __________________________________________ City:_____________________
State:__________ Zip:__________________
(H) Phone:_______________ (W) Phone:_______________ (Cell ph.)_______________
Email:______________________________
Debts:(note that you must list all your debts on schedules: it's a crime to intentionally fail to do so!)
1. Secured:$ ____________(secured debts are like mortgages and car loans)
2. Unsecured:$__________ (these are like credit card debt, medical bills and personal loans)
3. Tax Debt:$___________(these probably will not be discharged, but you have to list 'em anyway!)
4. Student Loans:$_______(you won't get them discharged, but you must list them anyway!)
5. Child support or alimony: $_______(ditto; you'll keep both kinds of debt, but must list 'em)
6. Other Debts:$ _________(to be consistent, I'll tell you that you must list them!)
Real Estate (real estate is dirt; like a house, or a building, or a piece of land)
First Property
1. Home value:$_____________________(use Zillow.com to determine value; the trustee will!)
2. When purchased:________________
3. First mortgage: $_________ Monthly payment:$_______
4. Second mortgage: $_______ Monthly payment: $ ______
5. Trustee sale date (if any) :_______
6. Are you current on your house payments:_____
Additional Properties (same questions apply)(use another piece of paper if you need more room!)
Motor vehicles
Type of car/truck #1:__________________________________________________
Year Make Model Mileage
1. Monthly payment: $
2. Delinquency total: $___________
3. Current Value: $____________(use excellent condition, private party value on bluebook.com; the trustee will, so you need a preview of the trustee's starting number!)
4) Loan Payoff: $_____________
Type of car/truck #2:_________________________________________________________
Year Make Model Mileage
1. Monthly payment: $____________
2. Delinquency total: $___________
3) Current Value: $ _______________
3. Loan payoff: $________________
Additional Vehicles (same questions apply)
Income
1. Your annual gross income: $___________(gross; that's before deductions)
2. Spouse’s annual income: $_________(gross; that's before deductions)
3. Income from operation of a business: $_______
4. Unemployment benefits per month: $_________
5. Social Security per month $____________
6. Other income: $____________
7. Number of People Living in Your Home: ____Are They Dependents on Your Taxes?______
7. Do You Pass the Means Test? _____________ (use the Nolo Calculator, and don't panic if you fail!)
Business Ownership Issues:
Do you own a business:__________if you do, read this and then continue.
a. Name/Type of Business: ________
b. Type of Entity : ________
c. Total value of business assets: $________
d. Total business debt: $_________
e. Have you personally guaranteed business debt (if you're not sure, you probably did): _________
Litigation
Are you currently involved in a lawsuit: ________
a. Date Served: ____________________
b. Status of the case: ________________
c. Case number: ___________________
d. Caption of lawsuit:________________
e. Court: __________________________
General Considerations:
Have you used any of your credit cards within last 90 days? _______________
Have made any payments to relatives within the last year? _____________ Amount of payment: $_________ Date of payment: _______________
Have you ever filed bankruptcy before? ___________ If so, when? __________ What chapter? ___________
Have you lived in Arizona for a FULL two years? ____________
Is there anything special, extraordinary or unusual I should know before I decide whether I can help you (for instance, is there a warrent for your arrest for murder currently going the rounds of the Phoenix Police) ?__________________________________________________________
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 left hand side. Look to the left hand side of my big bankruptcy blog and scroll down! And remember: if I file a bankruptcy for you, you had better list all of your assets and debts on your schedules and lists, because if you don't, you could go to jail. No kidding.
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HOW DO YOU HIRE ME?
And after we meet, IF AND ONLY IF YOU HAVE DONE YOUR HOMEWORK AND BROUGHT IT WITH YOU TO OUR FIRST HALF-HOUR MEETING, and if I believe I can help you, and if I think we are a moderately good fit for the one year to four years that you will be my bankruptcy client, the firm will email you a scary-looking five page retainer agreement. Then you decide if you want to retain me, or if somebody else wins your personal version of The Pepsi Challenge (tm).
And, yeah, I'd like to distill the retainer agreement down to a one-pager; and someday I will. But that'll probably have to wait until after this depression, when I have enough time to tinker with forms!
IF YOU'RE IN A HURRY TO GET STARTED, BRING YOUR CHECKBOOK AND LUCKY SIGNIN' PEN, AND WE'LL PRINT YOU A RETAINER AGREEMENT at our first interview, AT YOUR REQUEST. Normally, I just email it to clients after their first meetings with me, because I never want a client of mine to feel like they've been "closed" by a sales pitch.
Your choice.
If you retain me, by signing the retainer agreement and providing me with cashier's checks for the retainer and the filing fee (two separate cashiers checks, please), then you will get what we call "The Keys to the Kingdom", which is really a password so you can start filling in your information on our online system, as well as a suggestion as to pre- and post- consumer counseling services (remember that I can't file for you if you haven't taken the first time-wasting class, and you won't get a discharge if you don't take time-wasting class number 2, so take that the day after we file for you! And make sure you get the certificate to Heidi the Bankruptcy Angel so she can file it with the Court!).
Note that you are not a client for any purposes whatsoever until the office has received both the fully signed retainer agreement and the retainer and the separate check for the filing fee. You'll be paying for the time-wasting pre-and post- consumer credit counseling courses, which will run less than $50 or so.
And then (when your information is true, correct, and complete) you hit "send", and then you get in line with the clients ahead of you, and if AND ONLY IF you pass the means test, and after your forms pass muster with Heidi, and then with me or Nina, we will all agree on a day after you have spent your most recent paycheck with a debit card and that is reflected in your bank statement, and then and ONLY then we file your case electronically.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Well, if you asked that, you didn't do your homework! So got back to the top ten questions, and you'll learn the answer to that one!
And here's a hint; check out the timeline discussion at the end of the top ten questions list!
And I have a health and longevity blog, where I beg you to take vitamins, especially Vitamin C and D; read it if you want, but remember to check everything I suggest with a real doctor, and not get your medical advice from a bankruptcy lawyer with an office in Phoenix!
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