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 4
Exemption Allowances Vary From State to State
Today we had an Arizona bankruptcy petition to draft and we found the exemption allowances were much different from Ohio. For example, the home exemption was $100,000 compared to Ohio, which is only $5,000 per person. Additionally, our Arizona attorney told us that Arizona does not allow reaffirmations. So we had to change “Form 8 Intention” to “Property is claimed as exempt (avoid lien).” In Ohio, a reaffirmation agreement is demanded by the creditor and a great importance is placed on this document but in Arizona reaffirmations are not needed at all.
The moral to this story is that exemption allowances will vary from state to state, and sometimes, district to district within the same state. The best thing to do is to establish an open communication between yourself and the attorney you are working for. Never assume anything. Gather up your attorney questions and call to schedule a time you can talk with him about the case. During that time, ask the questions about exemptions or other areas of the law so you can understand how to prepare better petitions for him or her in the future.
If you are afraid to talk with your attorney freely and ask them questions, you need to find a paralegal (or other authority working directly under the attorney) to build this open communication with. Even I have to call attorneys and discuss these topics when we are working with an attorney in a state we have never prepared petitions for. It is better to ask a question and get the right answer now, than to let the mistake go through and embarrass the attorney when he or she is in court.
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
