Below are some recent bankruptcy questions and answers:
Q.
I am an out of work paralegal in Birmingham, AL, and have bankruptcy knowledge. I will obtain “virtual bankruptcy assistant” training next week. If I might ask, how are things working out doing this? Thank you for your time!
A.
To give you a feel for how in demand the VBA service is, one of our students had 5 attorneys contact him in the last few days, and one of them is looking to outsource about 40 bankruptcy petitions per month, which will produce about $14,000 of monthly income…from just ONE attorney. One of the other attorneys also just sent two Chapter 7 petitions to draft.
Q.
With the experience you have, can you please tell me how to determine what fee to charge the attorney…can you give some kind of guideline?
A.
The fee that VBA’s charge is a personal decision. Many new VBA’s charge $300 for 7’s and $400 for 13’s, if that’s helpful.
Q.
Here in the Southern district of Florida they are starting to use retail value to determine vehicle exemption exemptions. I don’t really know what retail value means? Do I use the price that the dealer sells the vehicle for or the price a private individual will sell it to another private party for?
A.
You should ask the attorney whether he/she wants you to use the dealer or private-party retail value. If you want to be proactive, you can call the trustee’s office on behalf of your attorney to obtain this information.
Q.
After the drafting of the petition is done, do you recommend a copy be saved for the attorney (somewhere down the road he/she may need a copy). I read in the study materials that a copy could be saved to the attorney CD & sent annually)…is that okay?
A.
It’s between you and the attorney as to how and what to back up, based on what the attorney would like you to do, as it is his/her information you are working on, and he/she is ultimately responsible for it. Backing up data and sending a CD to the attorney could be a valuable service to some attorneys though.
Q.
What type of back up system do you recommend (to protect against computer theft & viruses)
A.
The most cost effective way to backup data is to a USB hard drive that you can keep elsewhere when your backups are complete.
Most computers run built-in firewall software to prevent unauthorized access.
Regarding viruses. Most computers come with antivirus protection, but there are good free tools such as AVG, or industry standard tools such as Symantec Antivirus and Mcafee. Please note that we do not endorse any particular antivirus product.
Q.
What type of accounting system does a VBA need?
A.
Because a VBA business is very simple to run, an accounting “system” isn’t really necessary.
A VBA business has VERY few expenses (e.g., web hosting, cell phone, internet access), which can easily be tracked in a spreadsheet, or something similar.
It can be handy to have a checkbook balancing software product to help you keep track of your business (and personal) checking account, but that is purely personal preference, and is definitely optional.
Q.
How do I handle mobile homes in a bankruptcy petition?
Example: Debtor has a mobile home on wheels that she is still paying on, but owes more than the last appraised value which was done over 5 years ago.
First of all, how do you describe the property? Could it be: Mobile Home: 1995 Fleetwood 16×80 single wide, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, on wheels without skirting parked in St. Paul, Va. (it is not in her possession, but parked in a relatives yard in their possession but she is on deed and makes the payments).
Could that be correct? And since it does still have wheels it would be categorized #25: Automobiles, Trucks, Trailers, and Other Vehicles? Not real property, right? Also, how do you come up with a value on this without paying a fee? Is there a web site that gives value like a vehicle? I tried Kelley Blue book and NADA with no success. I googled for a site but found no source that did not want a fee.
Or do I just take the last value she got years back since it is viewed as a vehicle with registration and no deed?
A.
As you pointed out, whether or not a mobile home still has wheels on it, can help you determine whether to list it on Schedule A as real property (e.g., no wheels), or on Schedule B as personal property. A better indicator though, would be whether or not the mobile home is sitting on a permanent foundation or not. If it is on a foundation, it’s likely to be considered real property; whereas if it is not on a foundation, it’s likely to be considered personal property.
The description you gave is likely to be acceptable to both the attorney and trustee; the attorney should tell you if he/she would like any changes made to the description after his/her review.
Regarding where to obtain a value on a mobile home, NADA (www.NADAGuides.com), provides these in the “Manufactured Homes” section of their website. If the particular model you are looking for doesn’t seem to be there, you can get creative and look for similar models for sale on Craigslist, ebay, or even as you did, search via Google or another search engine. If you come up empty, ask your attorney what he/she would like you to do.
Best wishes.
Sincerely,
-The 713 Training Team
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DISCLAIMER: We at 713 Training are not attorneys; any information provided by 713 Training should not be considered legal advice. The information in this article, and any other materials provided by 713 Training, whether delivered verbally, written or via any other means, including electronic/digital delivery and storage, is for training purposes only, and is intended for individuals who work under the direction of a licensed attorney.
