Los Angeles Bankruptcy Blog

“… will you take a post-dated check for your services?”

Of course, to succeed here, I have to do all the work in less than 3 days, putting aside clients who have paid me to do the work on their case.

So, if I say “yes,” I’m going to trust that this check will be good. But I won’t know until two weeks from now. The potential client only has the resources to muster up some of the funds, but I’m exposed here. What if the check is not good? Why should I take that chance?

If I say “no,” will the prospective client find someone else that will take on an emergency case on a rush basis and then on faith alone see if the money is good in two weeks?

Again, we want to help people, and there were lots of warning signs before three days prior to a foreclosure sale that it’s going to cost money to save the house. The guy missed all these signals, hasn’t paid his mortgage in 3 months, and has been living “rent-free” for a while, with no money saved away.

What would you do?

Sadly, we’re seeing this more and more, where people Can’t sell, so owners give bank the homes

Desperate families walk away rather than lose them to foreclosure.

STERLING HEIGHTS — Alan and Alyson Wirgau live in a cute ranch on a quiet suburban street next to an award-winning school. There’s a new roof above their heads, a new deck in back and a For Sale By Owner sign in front.

Instead of weighing offers, the family is weighing an option that seemed unthinkable a year ago: If they don’t sell their home soon, they may turn down the heat, load their possessions in a U-Haul and drive away.

Read the whole thing.

One of the ways a bankruptcy attorney like me can help people file bankruptcy inexpensively is by taking payments as clients make them. I’m flexible in this regard, and figure once you make the first payment, you’re going to want to finish.

Some people want to pay as quickly as possible, and if they have access to a relative or friend who has the money for a typical Chapter 7 bankruptcy, great. We’ll file your case in a week or two.

On the other hand, if you’re like most people, you don’t have over a thousand dollars for an attorney fee just sitting around. That is why we break up payments into halves, thirds fourths or whatever.

How much to start? Well, really, all we need is $200 and I’m your lawyer. You can pay $200 a month, every paycheck or just whenever you have it. Then, once there is no more balance, let’s sign papers and file your bankruptcy.

Bottom line: We’re flexible, and will do whatever we can (within reason!) to become your bankruptcy attorneys. I got into this field to help people, not get rich. So, your fresh start is a goal within reach.

I understand how people have a tendency to wait until the very last minute to do something about their debt problems. It’s a normal avoidance reaction. It’s not uncommon at all to have someone contact me regarding a lawsuit or summons or wage garnishment that’s about to kick in. I can save that, stop it, and protect you. Heck, I live for that.

Still, if your house is going to be sold at a foreclosure sale tomorrow morning and you are calling someone at 3PM the day before to do a whole bunch of work…

It’s always surprising to me when someone calls or emails and says, “Sure I make six figures but I really don’t have any money for debt repayment or debt consolidation. Can’t you just wipe it away? I want Chapter 7 bankruptcy.”

Um, not so fast. If you make over the median income for your state, household size and a whole bunch of other factors, it would not be “fair” for your debt to be wiped clean unless you can demonstrate that you truly, really, have no money to do so. This is the Means Test. And explaining how over eight grand a month is something you can barely live off of will be a trick that even Houdini would be proud of.

Technically, no. However, it does cost money to retain the services of an attorney.

Of course, you can always just file bankruptcy on your own. It’s merely a series of forms and procedures.

If you figure that each case takes someone with experience at this sort of thing about 4-6 hours of time per case, and you factor in the amount of money involved, headaches and the peace of mind knowing “it’s being done right” by an expert, some would say that’s money well spent.

A value, even.

I’m constantly amazed what I hear during consultations. No, not that the people who visit me amaze me. Rather, it’s the things they’re told by creditors, their friends, their co-workers and back-alley not-really-a-lawyer (aka paralegals). In other words, the rumors that circulate about bankruptcy law, consumer debt, and what your rights are.

One I heard recently was this: If you file bankruptcy on Cashcall (put that aside for a moment) that their debt will not go away. I even asked to see the Cashcall contract. Sure enough, plain as day, there was the text. Except the text was misleading and confusing to someone who’s not a lawyer. (accelerate… due immediately… event of bankruptcy… and so yawn).

Cashcall can’t keep you on the hook for their debt if you file bankruptcy. No one can. It’s your right to file a bankruptcy, and that federal, constitutional right trumps state contract law. (this is all absent your fraudulent or bad faith behavior, of course).

And another thing. You don’t “go bankruptcy on this loan or that debt.” It’s all or nothing. You must list your debts. All of them. However, some debts (like most student loans and some car loans) survive the bankruptcy.

There is really nothing good about a cash advance. These cute little checks they mail you — spend them however you like! — are just poison. 25% or 29% interest rate, no grace period, and it’s the last thing your payments are applied to… all this makes them almost impossible to pay off.

Easy money that’s just too easy.

Have you taken out out a cash advance in the last 6 months? What’s your experience with these things? I’m curious to see the comments.