Phoenix Bankruptcy Law Blog

Are you wondering if you qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy? Do you want to know how to find out? Go meet with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer. No, seriously. That is the best advice I can give you. Qualifying for chapter bankruptcy is so much more than simply the elusive “Means Test” that everyone (okay, maybe not [...]

I get a fair numbered of panicked phone calls from debtors – both clients and non-clients – regarding the time and location of their 341 hearing. Thankfully, the District of Arizona Bankruptcy Court provides a pretty nifty resource that allows anyone with Internet access to view the 341 hearing schedules. For those of you wondering, [...]

I have recently noticed that the concept of a bankruptcy trustee is forgien to many of my clients. This makes sense, given that most have zero prior experience with the bankruptcy court system. In a nutshell, a trustee is the court appointed official who administers the debtor’s bankruptcy estate.   A Chapter 7 trusteeliquidates non exempt property [...]

Hands down the most common questions I receive from potential bankruptcy clients is regarding their family home. When you think about it, this should come as no surprise as this is often the family’s largest personal asset. In addition, there is often a tremendous emotional attachment to one’s home. Somewhere between the years of saving [...]

Bankruptcy law, like most specialized topics, has a language all its own. Over the years, I have found that my clients are generally really smart. Instances of clients misunderstanding a portion of their bankruptcy filing generally don’t stem from the complexity of the information. Instead, I have found that one of two scenarios is often [...]

As promised, I would like to finish up my discussion of reaffirmation agreements, and how they relate to filing bankruptcy, with a little bit of case law. For those new to the legal system, while there is a bankruptcy code outlining the basics of filing for bankruptcy, at lot of the details regarding specific factual [...]

Well folks, I hope that you have had a chance to watch Judge Hollowell’s introduction to Reaffirmation Agreements. If not, here is my spiel on them. One of the benefits that debtors obtain from filing bankruptcy is the removal of personal liability from most debts. This means a creditor is no longer able to pursue [...]

The question of reaffirmation agreements and whether you should reaffirm a secured debt is a tough one. Fortunately, for all you out there that need a little bit of clarification, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona has put out an informational video on this very subject. In this video, the Honorable Eileen [...]

I recently had a client who was interested in discharging a “QDRO” (qualified domestic relations order) under chapter 7 bankruptcy. I had to break it to her that this was probably not a possibility. QDRO stands for Qualified Domestic Relations Order and is often included in divorce agreements in which the community estate contains a [...]

Well folks, it’s time for part two of how to maximize your bankruptcy exemptions: lien stripping. Last week we discussed lien avoidance as a way to remove the secured status of certain lien that impair your bankruptcy exemptions. Today I want to say a few words about lien stripping, which refers to the stripping of [...]