An experienced bankruptcy specialist knows how to properly “handle” the relationship with a new client. This may be the first or the only serious interaction a consumer has ever had with a lawyer. At Bayer, Wishman & Leotta, we think that if more consumers know how they should be handled, then we would not hear as many bankruptcy horror stories as we do.

Let’s face it, if you know you are being properly guided through the preparation and filing of your case, you will have confidence that your bankruptcy will get you the result you seek. So let’s take a look at some things that you, as a client, should expect from your bankruptcy attorney. If you don’t see these things addressed when necessary by your lawyer, you might be headed for trouble. We hope you will notice a pattern of preparation and follow up that are crucial to a successful relationship with your lawyer.

This article is part of a series of articles in which I’ll walk you through what to expect in your client-lawyer relationship. In this first article, I’ll cover your initial contact with a bankruptcy lawyer.

“Expect to fill out some written materials before you meet with a lawyer.”

A good bankruptcy lawyer will have forms for you to fill in before you meet face to face. These forms will not be difficult. They will help you organize your thoughts and collect important information that will allow you and your attorney to make critical decisions about your case at the beginning of your relationship. If your lawyer fails to get the right information out of you, mistakes are likely. Your lawyer should be looking for “core information” (about your finances, your assets, your debts and key events that are important to planning your case.)

“Don’t expect to hire a lawyer over the phone.”

In some circumstances, you may get to speak with a bankruptcy lawyer by telephone before you meet. But don’t expect that chat to result in a lawyer-client agreement. The hiring of your lawyer must be done in writing—something you both sign. If your situation is an emergency, it’s possible to get quality advice over the telephone, but you’ll still have to meet with the lawyer at some point. And that lawyer will still need to look at your important documents.

“Do expect to meet with a lawyer, not a paralegal or the lawyers staff.”

I have warned consumers in the past about hiring the wrong kind of lawyer, especially the “cheapest one.” Take a look at my article on the fees charged by Los Angeles bankruptcy lawyers and the drastic differences you may find. Remember that you must meet with the lawyer that is responsible for your case! Only an experienced bankruptcy specialist, working directly with you, will understand how to develop your particular bankruptcy strategy. If you are only offered a meeting with a paralegal or staff member of the law firm, don’t stick around.

“Expect to give your lawyer copies of key documents.”

If your lawyer doesn’t insist on seeing copies of key documents, run for the hills. If you have a mortgage foreclosure, for example, your lawyer should insist on getting copies of the foreclosure notices from you. The same goes if you are being sued. Copies of court documents or a pending case against you may be important. These documents are likely to contain critical dates that will affect the timing of your bankruptcy case. If you expect to hire a good lawyer, expect that lawyer to insist on seeing the documents before he or she is hired.

“Expect your lawyer to keep you on track during your first meeting.”

Experienced bankruptcy lawyers show their expertise by getting through the first meeting very efficiently. They will quickly understand the “core information” about your case and get you moving quickly toward bankruptcy solutions that are available for your circumstances. This will help you feel better about your circumstances promptly instead of wallowing in the details of your financial hardships.

In the next article I’ll cover what you should expect after this first meeting with the lawyer.

Bayer, Wishman & Leotta is a full service bankruptcy firm. We have offices in Downtown Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach. Our attorneys are Certified Specialists in consumer and small business bankruptcy and you may reach us at (800) 477-3111. Check us out on AllExperts.com.

Called “Lien Stripping,” the process of removing a HELOC or other lien on your property is one of the tools that could be a game-changer for your financial situation. In order to remove a second mortgage or HELOC, your situation must meet certain legal requirements. For example, the value of your home must have depreciated to the point where it is worth less than what you owe on your first mortgage. You must also meet other eligibility requirements for bankruptcy.

Here’s a simple example that might allow for the removal of a HELOC in Chapter 13. If you owe $500,000 on your first mortgage and your home is worth less than $500,000, then you might be able to “strip” or remove the HELOC in the second mortgage position. But it the value of your home is more than the amount you owe on your first mortgage, you will not be able to remove the HELOC. Either way, Chapter 13 is a financial option that may help you take a closer look at ways that you can afford to stay in your current home.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is not a quick process and it requires discipline on your part to make it happen. If your first mortgage is in default, you will have to commit to a plan to pay back the defaulted amounts over a period of time. Yet Chapter 13 offers many financial tools that Chapter 7 bankruptcy does not. These tools could make it more financially more appealing to stay in a home that is currently upside down.

Bayer, Wishman & Leotta is a full service bankruptcy firm. We have offices in Downtown Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach. Our attorneys are Certified Specialists in consumer and small business bankruptcy and you may reach us at (800) 477-3111.

This may sound like a dumb question, but may I ask why I found a big difference in the fees quoted among so many attorneys in Los Angeles? I was quoted anywhere from the low side of $1,000 to the high side of $3,800 for a Chapter 7 case.

First, I believe there are no dumb questions, only dumb lawyers. The best answer I can give is that lawyers do charge different fees because there are often big differences between us. For example, in our firm the fees are set so that we can deliver the same quality of legal service to you that we would want for ourselves, as if we were a client instead of you.

If you are looking for a bankruptcy lawyer, it will be worth your time to “check” around before you write a “check.” For example, if you were buying a car, you might look up the automotive ratings in Consumer Reports Magazine. Some cars score high, some very low. Some cars are made like junk; and some are built extremely well. Expensive cars usually (but not always) outperform cheap ones when it comes to safety, comfort and reliability. A cheap car may just get you where you’re going, but it might also break down or even rollover and crash before performing as promised.

Lawyers with the lowest fees will generally have the lowest level of skill and may treat their clients with disregard if not downright contempt. In fact, the client might never even meet the lawyer. In some cases it’s typical for the client to have no important communications with an actual lawyer—and instead the client only interacts with office “staff.”

You can very easily prove this for yourself. Please go to AllExperts.com and look at the questions I get on this free advice site. I have personally answered more than 1,000 questions for this site. I do not get paid for doing this.

Take the time to read some of the questions and answers. Many of the questions just break my heart when I see what bad legal representation the client gets.

A huge number of these questions come from people after they already filed bankruptcy BECAUSE they gave a check to a bad lawyer that can’t answer their questions or that has simply abandoned them. I wonder how many of these well meaning clients thought all lawyers are the same so they hired the cheapest lawyer they could find.

So here are my suggestions for you if you find yourself comparing the fees you’ve been quoted by different lawyers:

• Do a Google search on the lawyer’s name and see what pops up. Try this with my firm, Bayer, Wishman & Leotta. We welcome you to check our record and compare the results we get for clients with any other lawyer that you might consider in the Los Angeles basin.

• In your search and interview process, ask and consider if the lawyer is a recognized expert in the California bankruptcy field? Does the news media seek out the opinions of this lawyer?

• Check a lawyer’s record on an objective website like Avvo.com.

• Ask how long the lawyer has been practicing bankruptcy law specifically. Does the lawyer handle other types of cases? In a large urban area like Los Angeles, quality bankruptcy lawyers devote their entire practice to bankruptcy. You do not want to trust your finances with an inexperienced or part time bankruptcy lawyer.

• You will be best served by a Certified Specialist in bankruptcy. The Certification process in our area is handled by The California State Bar. Ask the lawyer if he or she is a Certified Specialist. If not, the lawyer’s claims of “expertise” should be given no weight.

Again, the fees in our firm are set so that we can deliver you with the same quality of legal service that we would want to have for ourselves. At Bayer, Wishman & Leotta, we charge only what we think is necessary to get the job done while giving you a “smooth, comfortable ride” through the legal process.

Bayer, Wishman & Leotta is a full service bankruptcy firm. We have offices in Downtown Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach. Our attorneys are Certified Specialists in consumer and small business bankruptcy and you may reach us at (800) 477-3111.

This was the case for a person that held the mortgage on real property owned by a borrower who filed Chapter 13:

I am a secured creditor in a chapter 13 case. My security is a note secured by a deed of trust on a commercial property where the debtor runs his business.

The debtor has been timely in making his monthly interest only payments and assures me that his timely payments will continue. There is a meeting of creditors soon and the deadline for objections to his plan and the confirmation hearing are also approaching.

The note is secured by a Deed of Trust that contains pretty good language saying I can recover my lawyer fees if I’m “required to retain an attorney to enforce” my rights and if I’m the “prevailing party.”

Here are my questions:

● Should I file proof of claim?

● Should I attend the creditors meeting? The confirmation hearing?

● Do I need an attorney to represent me in this matter and to attend any necessary hearings and meetings in order to protect my interests?

● If I hire an attorney, what will my costs be and will I recover my costs?

We are providing the following for information purposes only. It is not intended and should not be taken as legal advice. But we think this information will be useful to our subscribers and others that face bankruptcy either as debtors or creditors:

I certainly do recommend that you hire an experienced bankruptcy attorney. You don’t mention the value of your note, but I assume it is very valuable and likely worth spending some money to make sure that you are protecting it to the extent possible.

Legal fees could be $2,500 for an evaluation of your rights and the basic steps that are necessary to protect your note and deed of trust. Of course, nobody wants to spend money needlessly. It is always possible that you could do absolutely nothing and still come out just fine. In a case like this, legal fees are just an unfortunate cost of doing business, the same as banks face every day. However, they have legal departments and expect to spend money to protect their assets. While you may not have expected such an expense, you have the same risks and exposure that banks have.

By carrying a note (perhaps if you sold the underlying business or property) you have put yourself in the banking business—which means there is “overhead” involved in conducting your “new” banking business. If you want to make sure that you are not stumbling around in the dark and that you are not accidentally doing anything detrimental to your new business, then hire yourself a lawyer.

I don’t know if the fees would be recoverable. You can try, but probably not if the debtor objects. I wonder if a lawyer drafted your note? I suspect a broker or an escrow agent prepared it?

The word “enforce” is very troublesome. I do not like seeing that term in your note. If it had said “protect,” I would be more optimistic that your fees are recoverable. Doing basic legal servicing on your note, such as filing a proof of claim, reviewing the Plan and other documents etc. probably does not qualify as “enforcing” the note. It is really more in the nature of “protecting” your rights in the note (kind of like the difference between watering your lawn as opposed to replanting bad areas in the grass.)

It may well turn out that no legal action needs to be commenced to “enforce” it, particularly if the debtor continues to pay as agreed. Most professional lenders stopped using the term “enforce” back in the 1980s because of this precise reason! They got burned; and then they changed the wording in their legal documents.

Recovery of fees can also hinge on whether your note is fully secured or only partially secured by the value of the property. It is partially secured if the real property is a little “upside down” and fully secured if the property has equity.

Bayer, Wishman & Leotta is a full service bankruptcy firm. We have offices in Downtown Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach. Our attorneys are Certified Specialists in consumer and small business bankruptcy and you may reach us at (800) 477-3111.

I wrote a chapter in this new book about the key strategies for managing twenty-first-century bankruptcy cases. The book is available directly from the publisher here and on the web at sites like Amazon.com.

Aspatore Books, the publisher, is a Thomson Reuters business and exclusively publishes books for executives and lawyers, collaborating with the world’s most respected companies and law firms. According to Aspatore Books–

“Trends in Consumer Bankruptcy Filings provides an authoritative, insider’s perspective on advising clients in today’s bankruptcy environment. Featuring experienced attorneys from around the country, this book guides the reader through the recent developments in the consumer bankruptcy arena, including how the current economy and the continuing effects of BAPCPA are impacting clients and cases.”

For my clients and friends that don’t recognize the term “BAPCPA”, above, it is the acronym for the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. These amendments to the Bankruptcy laws have presented many challenges for consumer debtors, bankruptcy lawyers and trustees. One of the changes in the law was recently reviewed by the United States Supreme Court in a new opinion that interprets the effects of the “Means Test” on the budget expenses allowed for Chapter 13 debtors. That case is Ransom v. FIA Card Services.

We can expect this area of law to continue to challenge debtors seeking to legitimately restructure or discharge their debts. Bankruptcy will remain a necessary step for many consumers and one that should only be taken with expert counsel.

I am pleased to be an author for Aspatore Books and to share my professional views and over 30 years of experience with lawyers and business executives around the country. At Bayer, Wishman & Leotta, we continue to specialize in filing and managing successful bankruptcy cases for consumer debtors in the Los Angeles area.

I am honored to be speaking at this program along with the Hon. Barry Russell, Bankruptcy Judge in the Central District of California, and a panel of outstanding bankruptcy professionals. According to the National Business Institute, this program will provide bankruptcy lawyers with “the opportunity to learn about bankruptcy from the view of decision makers and professionals who work in the field every day.”

The half-day seminar will take place on Friday, January 28, 2011, from 9:00 am to 12:15 pm at the Crown Plaza Beverly Hills and I’ve linked it here if you have an interest in attending.

We will review “BAPCPA” (the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code), the “Means Test and Chapter 7 Challenges,” “Chapter 13 Issues” and “General Tips”. It should be interesting, especially in light of a very recent Supreme Court ruling on the “Means Test” in Chapter 13 cases (Ransom v. FIA Card Services, 562 U.S. ___ (2011).

Bankruptcy lawyers hard at work.

Bayer, Wishman & Leotta continues to fight the good fight every day for debtors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases. We have offices in Downtown Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach. Our attorneys are Certified Specialists in consumer and small business bankruptcy and you may reach us at (800) 477-3111.

I believe this seminar is a worthwhile program for bankruptcy lawyers and paralegals and I look forward to seeing many of my friends there.

The Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network (LMSPN) was launched on April 26, 2010 and is led by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, , the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (1-888-995-HOPE), NeighborWorks America (LoanScamAlert.org) and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (PreventLoanScams.org). This group publishes a monthly “Scam Database Report” and also maintains  a “list” of reported scam artists in most states. Their June 2010 Report shows that for homeowners over 50 years of age, almost half of the complaints nationwide came from California. And sadly, 33% of those reported some attorney involvement. More on that below.

According to a loan service industry news report, the most common type of loan modification scam begins with finding folks who are getting notices of default. Then–

“Fraudsters contact and then deliberately confuse these borrowers about their lender affiliation. A common impersonation is pretending to represent Countrywide, or simply avoid talking about their affiliation or lack thereof, offer to do a loan modification for a fee, start collecting payments and eventually disappear. To appear convincing they may even go so far as to mail fraudulent documentation so borrowers continue to pay and get further into default.”

"...have a legal framework for comparing" your options.

So how do you avoid a loan modification scam? Remember the report (above) that showed frequent “attorney involvement”? Let’s start right there. Avoid any lawyer that is not a long-time bankruptcy specialist. Begin by finding and meeting with a very qualified bankruptcy specialist with a good reputation in your area.

Why? Because all homeowners in trouble need to begin by understanding whether bankruptcy, Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, is a viable option. If the answer to this question is “yes”, then you will be able to fairly and honestly evaluate any loan modification “offer” from your lender. And you will also be considering your other debts and financial issues as part of your thought process.

In other words, you will have a legal framework for comparing any loan modification offers or claims (including an actual offer from your bank) to your honest legal rights. And if the answer to this question is “no” you don’t qualify for bankruptcy relief, then you will also have a qualified lawyer to give you some advice about how to avoid a scam.

Here are some other tips for avoiding a loan modification scam:

• Don’t pay any money or fees up front! In California, it is a violation of law for “foreclosure consultants” to collect any money before they actually provide services. But regardless of where you live, don’t pay up front.

• If you speak with a lender or someone that claims to be your bank or “loan servicer” by telephone, verify their name, the company they work for, their job title and phone number. Don’t give them any information about your situation over the phone. If you are speaking to your lender, they already have your information. But scammers can get some information from a Notice of Default and they can sound pretty convincing. So if you aren’t certain, ask them to send you a letter.

• Don’t pay your mortgage payments to anyone other than your lender! If a foreclosure consultant offers to “hold” payments for you (in order to negotiate with your lender), don’t do it! They might keep your payments and disappear.

• Don’t transfer title to your home or sign any documents without speaking to a lawyer! Some loan modification scammers will get you to sign fraudulent documents or even cause you to file fraudulent bankruptcy documents in order to stall a foreclosure and benefit themselves, not you.

Loan modification scams often work because homeowners in trouble are stressed and not thinking clearly. Fear of the unknown lies behind many such frauds. So the best advice for folks that might qualify for a loan modification is to start by meeting with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. These attorneys know how to analyze your financial situation quickly and efficiently and they will clear you head and calm your unreasonable fears.

Ken writes—”I filed bankruptcy in 2008 and let my home go to foreclosure. My HOA fees were almost current when I filed. My attorney advised me not to pay any more HOA fees—that I would be protected by my bankruptcy. It took about 18 months after my bankruptcy for my bank to take possession of the property. Now the HOA wants me to pay all the past due fees (about $22,000) before the bank took possession. Am I responsible? I can’t afford to pay. What can I do? This has caused me so much stress that I haven’t been able sleep lately and it is affecting my health.”

This happens far too often and could be the result of bad bankruptcy advice or poor communication between a client and his lawyer. So, what would I tell Ken? The bankruptcy law was amended in 2005 to provide that HOA fees accrued AFTER the date of a bankruptcy filing are still due and collectible from a debtor.

A bankruptcy lawyer should advise a client of this fact. The client above should have had a discussion about the option of filing bankruptcy after the bank had completed a foreclosure sale. Filing bankruptcy after the date of the foreclosure sale would allow a discharge of any accrued HOA fees.

At this point, the client above has limited options. He can and should demand an itemized accounting from the HOA. The accounting would allow him to divide the bill into—(a) fees accrued prior to the bankruptcy, which are dischargeable; and (b) fees accrued after the bankruptcy filing date, which are not dischargeable. I strongly suspect the $22,000 includes fees accrued prior to filing, as well as after.

I don’t know what could be realistically done to make the bank foreclose any faster. We actually see some banks going very slow on condo foreclosures specifically because of HOA fees and liability. They don’t want to be saddled with HOA fees until they are good and ready to take over the unit and put it into the saturated marketplace.

Is it possible that the client lived in the home during the 18-month period he is asking about (without paying the bank)? If so, then another way to look at the situation is that he picked up 18 months of free rent. If this happened, then the HOA fees should be viewed as a cost that really covers providing the client with upkeep and amenities he had as a resident.

In any event, it is crucial for a prospective client to understand their options before filing a bankruptcy. And in the case of HOA debts prior to and during a foreclosure, you need to understand the way your bankruptcy case will affect your financial future. Then you can make informed decisions for yourself. If bankruptcy is an alternative for you, please get yourself to an experienced and qualified bankruptcy lawyer so you can review your options and make good decisions.

Bayer, Wishman & Leotta remains committed to providing solid, experienced bankruptcy advice in the Los Angeles area, including downtown Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley. My partners and I are California State Bar Certified Bankruptcy Specialists with decades of experience. Please find a good lawyer and you won’t get burned by bad advice.

Guest author, Steven Fox, has practiced bankruptcy law since the late 1980′s and has offices in the Los Angeles area. He has a solid understanding of how businesses work and provides good counsel for troubled individual and business debtors. His clients include manufacturing companies in a wide range of industries, retail stores and individuals.

Do you believe that you or your business may need to file for a Chapter 11 “Reorganization”? Do you know the single most important strategy for success in Chapter 11? Most troubled business owners don’t because, as you’ll see below, most Chapter 11 cases fail. If you want your case to succeed, you’ll need an effective exit strategy. And you’ll need to develop this strategy with your attorney before you file your case with the Chapter 11 goal of getting in and getting out!

I’ll share with you some basic information about Chapter 11 and some statistics that may shock you. And they should. Then I’ll review some of the elements that experienced Chapter 11 attorneys look for in planning successful business reorganizations or individual debt restructures.

First, some Chapter 11 basics. A Chapter 11 is a reorganization case, generally for business but also for individuals. There is a filing fee, a lot of paperwork and motions which need to be filed, followed fairly quickly by the filing of the reorganization “plan”. The plan explains how creditors will be paid (the sources of funding and the timing of payments) and how much they are to be paid. Creditors get to vote to accept or to reject the plan. Creditors can object to confirmation of the plan and the bankruptcy court may “confirm” the plan, in effect, creating a new contract between the debtor and creditors.

If the plan is approved, the debtor makes payments to creditors usually for a period of years and the debtor gets a discharge of debts. If the plan is not approved, the case could be dismissed or converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation case. In a Chapter 11 case and a plan, liens may be removed; loan payments and interest rates can be reduced. Lawsuits and collection activities generally stop. Non-dischargeable debts, such as certain taxes and unpaid child support, can be paid over time through the plan.

Now, here is the cautionary tale of Chapter 11 statistics. Most Chapter 11 cases fail. About 70% of the Chapter 11 cases filed between 1989 and 1995 were either dismissed or converted to Chapter 7, according to a study done for the Executive Office of the United States Trustees. This study found that only 26% of the Chapter 11 filings during that same period resulted in a confirmed reorganization plan.

Since the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code, similar U.S. Trustee statistics show that 33% of Chapter 11 cases resulted in a confirmed plan of reorganization (through February 2009). See “Chapter 11 Filing Trends in History and Today”, Flynn, Crewson, Et. al., (2010).

"Each Chapter 11 will have its own exit strategy."

Of course, a strategy is not a guaranty of a successful case but it allows the attorney, the debtor and others to work toward the same goal. Each Chapter 11 will have its own exit strategy.

In my experience, there are many reasons why certain cases succeed, largely due to the planning done in advance. Many failed cases were just not appropriate for Chapter 11 in the first place. Your successful exit strategy must be developed before your case begins or your case will be one of the two-thirds or so that fails.

In developing an exit strategy, you’ll want your attorney to be highly experienced in successful cases and to consider many important factors leading to success. So it is absolutely essential that you choose the right attorney.

We know that your goal is to “get in and get out” by planning your case in advance. So what are some common parts of an effective exit strategy?

• Be prepared to make hard choices in your business—choices that will hurt a lot but which will allow you to confirm a fair reorganization plan.
• Get your books and records in order before the case is filed. Accurate information and accurate reporting during your case will be critical.
• Prepare for emotional stress. Leading a business through Chapter 11 will add new emotional stresses and challenges.
• Do not hedge in making accurate and complete financial disclosure.
• Plan for professional costs. Typically the Debtor needs to employ both an attorney and an accountant. Knowing how you will pay these professionals is a strong indicator of success.
• Identify likely problem creditors and anticipate their legal and factual arguments. Plan to counter their facts and arguments and expect to negotiate where possible to reach a deal with these creditors.

The planning you do with your attorney and accountant in advance should give you a strong feeling that you will succeed in the Chapter 11 reorganization process. If not, expect that an experienced Chapter 11 attorney will tell you that you and your business are not well suited to reorganize in Chapter 11.

If you are thinking of filing a Chapter 11 case in the Los Angeles area, I maintain an office in Encino, California and can be reached at (818) 774-3545.  As you might expect, I am prepared to evaluate your case for success and to answer your questions without hesitation. Don’t just call the lawyer who filed your friend’s Chapter 7 case. Seek out an experienced Chapter 11 lawyer that understands what will make your reorganization a success.

STOP Bill Collectors

An annoying phone call from a bill collector shouldn’t ruin your day. You can best deal with them by putting them “on the defensive” and knowing your rights.

Many people that I consult with at Bayer Wishman & Leotta expect to file bankruptcy in the near future. So they often ask me what to do about annoying bill collectors before they actually file their petition. Here’s what I tell them:

The next time a bill collector calls, use a calm voice and say you are now recording the call, (even if you are not), that you are getting ready to file Bankruptcy, your lawyer is getting the papers ready, offer them your attorney’s name and phone number, and say that your lawyer has told you not to pay them.

Don’t let them rattle you. Their job is to upset you, or so they think. Stay calm. The day’s of sending a thug to break your knee caps are long gone. Bill collectors may bark a lot, but they can’t bite.

If they accuse you of bad conduct—thievery, fraud, or any other silly thing—just remind them they are being recorded and ask them if they want to say any other stupid things so that your lawyer can play it in court for the judge, and for their supervisor!

Of course, if they think they are being recorded, I doubt you will get hassled. If you are already consulting with a bankruptcy lawyer about filing a petition, these bill collectors will soon be a thing of the past.

“But Leon,” you say, “what if I’ve already filed my petition and the bill collectors are still bothering me?”

Unfortunately, many companies will continue to bill you even after the court sends your bankruptcy notices to creditors. For the most part, this happens because the creditors are inefficient. They are not actively trying to harass you. The information about your bankruptcy case simply has not yet been entered into their automated billing systems. Even so, it is annoying, and you probably want to make it stop.

Let’s assume the creditor is correctly listed in your bankruptcy case yet they continue to send you unwanted bills and collection letters. (If they aren’t correctly listed, you have other problems and you will need to tell your attorney about this creditor and any listing or address problems immediately.) But if they are properly listed, it will cost you about $0.03 cents to make a photocopy, and $0.44 for a postage stamp. Then do the following:

• Take one of the BK notices you got for your court hearing, and make some copies of it.
• Use a bold making pen and write on the face of the bill, “See attached BK Notice!”
• Staple a copy of the Bankruptcy notice to the bill.
• Mail the bill and attached notice right back to them (preferably in their own return envelope if they provided one.)

And for poetic justice, you might use a “Forever” stamp because the creditor will now have to leave you alone… forever.