The meeting of creditors (or 341 meeting), is usually the only time a debtor will have to appear in bankruptcy court.  In the Colorado bankruptcy courthouse, these meetings are held in two rooms on the first floor of the bankruptcy court.  Judges are prohibited from attending the meeting. While this is a chance for creditors…Read more

While many of my clients have few assets when they file their bankruptcy, from time to time, I have a client who owns some property that would be considered non-exempt by the bankruptcy rules.  When that happens, I discuss my client’s options, which can include some pre-bankruptcy planning.  One common practice is to sell certain…Read more

If you own secured property, that is you have promised collateral against a loan, when you file Chapter 7, you must include a Statement of Intention with your bankruptcy petition telling your creditors what you intend to do with the property.  You must choose one of three options: surrender the property, reaffirm the debt, or…Read more

I have a secret: not everyone needs a bankruptcy lawyer.  If you have nothing but credit card debts, live alone, don’t own any property of significant value, and are willing to wade through the rules and forms necessary to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, then you can probably tackle the bankruptcy process on your…Read more

Filing Bankruptcy After Someone Gets Judgment Sometimes, I’ll get a client who can read the writing on the wall.  She realizes that very soon she won’t be able to pay her bills.  Instead of putting her head in the sand, she decides to short circuit collection efforts against her and file bankruptcy. While bankruptcy should…Read more

When a potential client comes into my office, my objective is to get a complete picture of their financial situation and give them my opinion about what their best option is.  Sometimes bankruptcy isn’t something I recommend. If a potential client tells me any of the following things are happening, I tell them I think…Read more

I never meet with a potential client with the objective of trying to get him or her to pay me to help with their bankruptcy.  My main objective during an initial consultation is to find out if bankruptcy is the best option to take care of their financial problems.  Sometimes it isn’t, and I don’t…Read more

I have never counseled a client to reaffirm a credit card debt.  Unlike a loan for a car, where you are trying to keep the car, credit cards are typically unsecured debts, and there won’t be any collateral that you’ll want to keep. Reaffirming a debt means that you will pay bills that bankruptcy would…Read more