The information contained in this article is solely intended to increase the skills of paralegals and other legal staff who are employed virtually or non-virtually by bankruptcy attorneys. This information is NOT taught in any law school or paralegal training course.
WARNING: This information is not to be used by non-attorneys to prepare bankruptcy petitions for the general public. The information is solely intended to train legal professionals working under the direction of licensed bankruptcy attorneys.
Bankruptcy Petition Drafting Tip 7
My assistant, Angie Boyd, was drafting a bankruptcy petition this past week and she called the debtor back to get answers to her questions. During the conversation the debtor said she would fax her some documents. Angie asked: “Do you have a fax machine?” The debtor answered “Yes.” This was another asset Angie could include on Schedule B that the debtor forgot to include on her Client Intake Forms.
Once she found out the debtor had a fax machine she asked her the following questions:
1. Are you making payments on the fax machine? (The answer was “no”.)
2. How old is the fax machine (The answer was “1 year.”)
3. Is the fax machine a laser or inkjet? (The answer was “inkjet.”)
4. What is the brand name of the fax machine? (The answer was “Brother”.)
5. Do you use the fax machine for personal use only? (The answer was “yes”.)
6. How much do you think you could sell the fax machine for in a yard sale? (The answer was “$15.00.”)
Angie knew that $15.00 was probably the right price since she knows that Brother inkjet fax machines normally sell for less than $100. Angie then added the $15.00 fax machine to the Household Goods on Schedule B of the bankruptcy petition since the fax machine was NOT used for business purposes.
AUTHOR BIO:
Victoria Ring is a Certified Paralegal and Bankruptcy Specialist. She has developed an entire line of training products and holds several seminars per year in drafting bankruptcy petitions. Her training materials have been approved by NFPA for 11 CLE credits. Additionally, Victoria Ring provides speaking and in-house training services for bankruptcy law firms. Visit her website at http://www.713training.com
