Chapter 13 Vs. Debt Consolidations

Should you consider Chapter 13 vs. Debt Consolidations

debt consolidatioinThe Advantages of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy over Traditional Debt Consolidations

Chapter 13 bankruptcies are a type of debt consolidation with certain legal aspects differing that allows you to reorganize your finances by consolidating your debts into one monthly payment. Chapter 13, however, should not be confused with traditional debt consolidation programs. Chapter 13 has the power of the Federal Bankruptcy Code behind it, and provides many advantages for people seeking debt relief:

The Automatic Stay

When you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you receive immediate protection by an automatic stay, a Bankruptcy Court injunction that prevents almost all collection activity against you. The stay has the power to stop foreclosures, repossessions, garnishments, license suspensions, and creditor harassment. Traditional debt consolidations don’t have any comparable stay provisions, there is no court order protecting you and your creditors cannot be forced to stop any of these actions.

Includes Most Types of Debt

Most traditional debt consolidations only allow specific debts to be consolidated in the payment plan, and don’t usually consolidate mortgage arrears, car payments, tax debt, and child support arrears. All of these debts can be included in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, consolidating your debt into one monthly payment and providing protection from ALL of your creditors.

Drastically Reduced Total Amount of Debt

Subject to certain qualifications, A Chapter 13 bankruptcy will allow you to pay as little as
10% of the unsecured debt back and eliminate the other 90%. Your reduction in principal
owed allows you to pay your debts off more quickly that you could through other consolidation plans that lack the power to dictate what the creditors are entitled to be paid. Traditional debt consolidation programs merely ask the creditor to lower the interest rates or balances and do not have a Federal judge ordering the creditors to adhere to the plan.

Definite Time Period

Chapter 13 bankruptcies are usually between 3 and 5 years in length. All dischargeable debts are eliminated at the completion of the bankruptcy. Traditional consolidations allow a possibility that the plans could drag on for years without significantly lowering the balances.

No Interest or Late Fees

Upon filing Chapter 13, unlike debt consolidation, any debt in existence prior to the filing does not accrue any more late fees, and usually will be repaid interest-free. All of the money you pay toward your unsecured debt will generally be applied toward principal drastically reducing the amount of time it takes you to repay a debt.

Attorney Working in Your Best Interests

Your Chapter 13 attorney, unlike a debt consolidator, has a legal and ethical obligation to zealously represent your best interests. Your attorney’s compliance with his obligations to you are regulated by state law. Thus, in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you have the opportunity to have a bankruptcy attorney represent only your interests and you are ensured that your attorney is fighting for your rights. Many debt consolidation programs are private entities, sponsored by creditors and don’t have the same strict legal requirements to protect borrowers’ best interests.

Protects Equity

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy does not require you to post any collateral in order to consolidate. Many traditional debt consolidations or home equity loans require you to risk your home and property if you can’t afford the monthly payments.

Pays Your Most Important Bills First

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan pays off most secured loans first and delays payment of unsecured debts. The majority of the initial Chapter 13 payments can be applied towards mortgage and automobile payment defaults. Credit cards and medical bills can be paid after these secured and other priority claims have been paid off. Traditional debt consolidation plans usually don’t have the power to delay payments to unsecured creditors without penalty or give preferential treatment to your car or home finance companies.

Debts are Eliminated if the Creditor Doesn’t File A Proof Of Claim

Each creditor must file a proof of claim with the Bankruptcy Court if they are to be paid during the consolidation. Frequently, not all creditors listed in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy file a proof of claim. As long as you finish the terms of your Chapter 13 debt repayment plan, all unfilled claims are eliminated and never have to be paid back.

For all your Chapter 13 training needs, check out our Chapter 13 Training Section:
http://www.713training.com/categories/Chapter-13-Training/”

Sincerely,
-The 713 Training Team
www.713Training.com
1-800-535-9984

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713 Summer Discount

Take advantage of the 713 Summer Discount

713 Summer DiscountThe Summer is winding down and many of us will have more time this Fall making it a great time to get started as a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant or to sharpen your skills. To help you out and to thank you for your interest in 713Training.com we have attached a coupon code for 20% off your next purchase from 713Training.com that is good until the end of September.

CODE: SUMMER20

This can be used for anything on 713Training.com and here are a few suggestions that might help.

If you are considering being a VBA but not sure you want to fully commit: get Book and Workbook Set

If you are READY to become a VBA and want to get a complete training package that will give you everything you need to become a successful VBA check out the following:
713Training/Categories/Training-Packages

If you want to get personal training with the 713Training Team to sharpen your skills:

If you want to get a VBA website:
Call us at 1-800-535-9984 and we will give you more details.

Regards,

-The 713 Training Team
www.713Training.com
1-800-535-9984

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713Training.com Quick-Start Bankruptcy Training Kit Giveaway

Start Your Own VBA Business With A Quick-Start Bankruptcy Training Kit From 713Training.com!

 

713Training.com Quick-Start Bankruptcy Training Kit Giveaway713training.com has everything you’ll need to start and grow your very own Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant (VBA) business working with bankruptcy attorney’s across the country preparing chapter 7 & 13 bankruptcy petitions. This kit comes with over 9 hours of training on 10 cd’s, a comprehensive workbook, a step by step guide to starting your business, as well as two additonal cd’s on “How to Market Your VBA Business” & “A Bankruptcy Collection of Case Trainings” as well.    You can go at your own pace as it takes you step by step through the process.

Multiple ways to enter.  Get 5 total entries just by liking our facebook page and signing up for our newsletter!   Everyone is a winner, all entrants will receive a coupon by email for discounts on all of our available training kits when the contest is over! Enter today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

See all of our available training kits –
http://www.713training.com/categories/Training-Packages/

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Exemption Check: Saving Time on your Petition

exemption checkHere is a quick tip on exemption check. Have you ever filled out Schedule A and B, and selected the exemptions on each item listed – only to find that you have to go BACK and fix it after finishing the Statement of Affairs because items were not listed correctly on the client intake forms? So have I!

I like to finish up all the schedules down to the SOA before putting in the exemptions – that way, I can just click through, verify it appears correct, and it only takes a few minutes. No going back to delete and reapply exemptions!

Let’s use the 401K as an example. Normally, you aren’t even aware there is 401K until you reach Schedule I and start to review the debtors paycheck stubs. Adding the 401K at this point to Schedule B would cause you to make adjustments to the exemptions; so it’s just easier to wait until you are doing it all at once, instead of bouncing around on the schedule trying to add them individually.

Please note that I am not suggesting entering in exemptions manually. As a non-attorney, you are not authorized to add exemptions yourself – this is why the bankruptcy software we use automatically selects the exemptions that you should use. All we do is select the type of exemption on Schedule A and B, the attorney is then responsible to review the exemption that Best Case suggests and accept or alter it prior to filing.

There are times that the bankruptcy software will select the wrong exemption. If you believe that the exemption is incorrect, it is the responsibility of the VBA to make a note of the exemption, and ask the attorney (or provide the question in your Attorney Cover Sheet) to check it so that it appears correctly on Schedule C. If you are in doubt with the exemptions selected, you can also have the petition reviewed prior to sending it to your attorney. 713training.com has a Petition Review Service available at this link:

http://www.713training.com/categories/Petition-Review-Service/

Sincerely,
-The 713 Training Team
www.713Training.com
1-800-535-9984

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Optimizing VBA Services

 

Optimizing VBA services

 

optimizing vba servicesPersonal bankruptcy Attorneys have some time ago recognized that there are a variety of tasks in serving a clients’ need which might be accomplished by a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant, who works to complete bankruptcy petitions under their supervision and direction. As such, attorneys all over the country have now urged their peers to support the training and employment of these assistants. Nevertheless, the effective utilization of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants will be based upon the routine office procedures, presently being used at the firm.

Therefore, Individual bankruptcy Lawyers who wish to gain the benefits of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants should know that their achievement could well be grounded in solid principles of office organization and communication. Regrettably, sometime the focus on the routine of bankruptcy petition preparation has resulted in an idea of a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant as not much more than purveyors of the routine.

In order to make your relationship successful, it is simply not enough to only expect  that your Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant ought to just be concerned with the mechanics of Bankruptcy Law, just inputting numbers into the forms of a personal bankruptcy software program, but more to the point, that they should really be focused on why such task are to be executed and encouraged to discover approaches to strengthen your petition procedures when possible. The routine of keying in figures into forms is only a place to begin from which your Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant should move from quickly to take on more difficult tasks, which can call for a full range of judgment abilities.

It is possible to conceptualize the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant as a connection in the legal service delivery system based upon assembly-line principles of bankruptcy forms processing, whereby they turn into a professional in the routine and repetitive. Nonetheless, your Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant could go a good deal past the routine. Just exactly how far they can go will depend more upon the working relationship that grows between the Bankruptcy Lawyer and the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant, and less on the routine input of data into a software application.

You want to make the relationship a prosperous one with your Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant? From the beginning, explain your expectations and communicate them effectively. Work to remove the repetitious, and insert the challenge.

To improve your partnership with your Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant, always make use of these 4 principles:

1. Present dependable feedback.

A failure to provide any feedback on the completed Bankruptcy Petition leaves the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant with no contact with your expectations, and doesn’t reward them for their really good actions. I cannot stress enough the significance of this. Remember that Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants have got the basics of bankruptcy petition preparation down cold. Or else, why would you be employing us? Even so, it is important that we understand what specific issues you need to see on the petitions or pleadings, with regard to specific language, order of information, etc. This definitely makes the process more a team collaboration, and will help confirm that we are able to meet your expectations with pretty much every petition completed.

2. Learn to assign work effectively.

As with a good deal of my valued clients, their needs are usually different. A few like for me to mainly input figures into the software program and provide them a finished petition. Some want me to perform all the stuff following the instant that the retainer agreement is signed until the personal bankruptcy is discharged. This isn’t any problem, but where it gets a little hairy is whenever I am helping another bankruptcy paralegal / bankruptcy legal assistant in the firm, and it is not clear as to who’s going to be responsible for what. Take a couple of moments at the beginning of the case and supply an synopsis of precisely what your expectations are through the bankruptcy filing, and note who will be accountable for what. Always be certain to include your individual work in the process too.

3. Provide constructive criticism

Let’s face it, not many individuals can take criticism well. Nonetheless, it is an essential part of the process to try to improve our work. I have had a lot of success with lawyers who took a few moments via telephone or e-mail to supply me with some insight to my mistakes, and it was certainly appreciated. Although I’d really like to think that I am flawless, I realize it to be the case that I am not, and I welcome the chance to learn from those whom I am providing services to. Use the opportunity after the petition is completed to provide insight and education to your Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant, and it will be returned ten-fold.

4. Make sure that your entire firm is fully committed to the use of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants

You have made the investment of time and money and further dedicated yourself to improving upon the efficiency of your firm, by means of the use of a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant. Great move on your part. Now, please take a few moments and tell the staff of your firm of the necessary part that the Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant will play in helping to improve the cause of the firm, by facilitating the growth of revenues and improvement of customer service. It can be frustrating to build a great partnership with a bankruptcy attorney, to only be met with the cold shoulder of the staffers when help is needed. I always remind the bankruptcy lawyer and the firm’s staff that it is not my motive to replace everyone, but simply to help the attorney increase their business, without a huge capital expense. Any words that can be passed onto the firm’s staff in support of this can be incredible, and help the bankruptcy petition process go just that much smoother.

Your success as an lawyer always hinges on relationships, and the choice to build a relationship with a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant is a wise one.  Apply these 4 techniques to maximize the usage of your Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant and reap the benefits later.

Source:  articlebase.com

Sincerely,

-The 713 Training Team
www.713Training.com
1-800-535-9984

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Bankruptcy Petition Drafting Tip #4


bankruptcy

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.

Sincerely,

-The 713 Training Team
www.713Training.com

 

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Disclaimer: We at 713Training.com 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.

 

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Bankruptcy Petition Drafting Tip #5

bankruptcyOur bankruptcy attorney had a client that was in the middle of filing a Chapter 7 when her employer promoted her to full-time pay. At the time she originally filed her petition she was only working part-time.

When we entered her new income information into Schedule I, the Means Test automatically recalculated and placed her into a Chapter 13. In fact, her increase in income placed her $3,008.00 over the median.

But thanks to the changes in the bankruptcy law, we were able to go into the Means Test and fill out the remaining tabs. Once we entered the debtor’s information for the taxes deducted from her check and the additional school expenses for her dependent children, the Means Test adjusted and qualified her for a Chapter 7.

The moral of the story is this: If you only fill out the first 2 tabs within the Means Test Form and the debtors do NOT qualify for a Chapter 7, you need to enter the data in the remaining tabs (such as: Living, Housing, Car, Necessary, Additional, etc.) The data you enter can be found in Schedule I and J. Normally this will change a Chapter 13 to a Chapter 7 (depending on the circumstances of course.)

And do not be afraid to ask your attorney for help if you have trouble understanding where the figures go on the Means Test. The point is that you should give it your “best shot” and then send to the attorney to review with you over the phone.

If you are afraid to speak up and cause debtors to go into a Chapter 13 (who do not have the financial ability to do so), you will not only cost the attorney and court $1,000s of dollars, but you could be taking money out of the hands of poor people who need it to survive unless the attorney catches your error and recalculates the Means Test him or herself. Your job is to make life easier for your attorney, not cause him or her to spend more time than is necessary.

Sincerely,

-The 713 Training Team
www.713Training.com

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Disclaimer: We at 713Training.com 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.

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Ch.7 & Ch.13 Seminar

Don’t’ Miss the Ch.7 & Ch.13 Seminar

The time is getting near and we would love to see you at 713Training’s Upcoming Seminar for VBA’s, Bankruptcy Attorney’s and their Staff.  CHECK OUT the following link to get more Information and sign up for the Seminar:

http://www.713training.com/categories/Seminars/

Basic Info:

DATE:  Friday, August 23rd and Saturday August 24th, 2013

TIME: 9:00am – 5:00pm Each Day 

LOCATION: Denver, Colorado (2 minutes from Airport)

We will be covering a wide variety of topics in regards to Chapter 7 and 13 petitions as well as preparing both chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases from start to finish.  We will also help you with setting up your business and share a lot of the secrets we have learned over the years. Attendees will get over $300 in free products just for attending the seminar.  Also this is a great opportunity to network with other VBA’s and Bankruptcy Attorneys. 

If you have any questions call or email us. We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

-The 713 Training Team
www.713Training.com
1-800-535-9984

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The “How Much Money Can I Make” Syndrome

An important tip to remember when structuring and building your home service business.

Would you consider it be unprofessional conduct if you went to a job interview and immediately asked your potential employer: How much money can I make?

Of course it would. In fact, if you acted in this manner there is little chance you would get the job.

money

So if the average person understands and abides by this behavior in their consumer life, why do they ask the question: How much money can I make? When thinking about starting their own business? Is it because they have been educated by television advertisements that promise to make them wealthy overnight? I personally do not know for sure.

However, let’s examine this issue in a little more detail. There are TWO different types of workers: (1) Independent Contractors, and (2) Employed personnel. If you work as an employee, upon the date of hire, the company will tell you how many hours you are expected to work and the amount of money you will be paid. But Independent Contractors (like virtual assistants) are their own employer. That means it is up to YOU to determine how much money you will make. Then you work toward that goal with your skills and knowledge.

Also, there are also TWO different types of customers: (1) Customers who employ Independent Contractors to do jobs on an as needed basis, and (2) Customers who employee a company and that company will employ you to do the job. The company you work for takes the largest profit and pays you a lower wage.

As an Independent Contractor your customers are the people you do work for. For example: in the virtual bankruptcy assistant field, the attorneys you work for are your customers. When the attorney first hires you to work for him or her virtually, it would be very unwise to ask the attorney how much money you are going to make. Only you can answer that question by the level of skills and services that you provide. Besides, you would not be able to answer this question sufficiently until after you had worked with the attorney for a period of time and averaged out the money you earned during that time period.

As a service business (virtual assistant), you should always devote a great deal of time to training and building your skills. Even if you have good skills and customers are paying you well for your services, you still need to devote time to training. Why? Because you will never know it all. There are new ideas being born every second. New technologies; and new methods of doing things. It is extremely important to keep in touch and tuned into the world that you provide services for. You will find that the more you improve your service business skills, the larger your income will grow.

Remember: Concentrate on improving your skills and talent and the dollars will come without effort.

Sincerely,

-The 713 Training Team
www.713Training.com

 

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“Which bankruptcy software product should I use?”.

We are often asked “What bankruptcy software product do you recommend”

bankruptcy softwareOur answer is that 713 Training does not recommend a particular bankruptcy software program. We use Best Case in our training videos, simply because it seems to be easier for people to learn. One nice thing is that most of the bankruptcy software makers provide a demo of their software that you can download and try out.  This includes Best Case, whose trial is fully functional, except that you can’t electronically file petition, and printed copies of petitions have the word “Demo” across them. We recommend that you don’t purchase a bankruptcy software program until you have downloaded the demo and tried it out several of them, to see which one you like.  You also won’t need to make the purchase until you have an attorney sending you work. Furthermore, some of the bankruptcy software makers provide their software for FREE, such as is the case with New Hope Software (www.BankruptcySoftware.com); you just have to agree to only prepare petitions for attorneys using their software. Nearly half of all bankruptcy attorneys use Best Case, with the next most popular products being New Hope Software, EZ-Filing, and Bankruptcy Pro, but we have listed several others for your review: Best Case Bankruptcy Best Case Software www.bestcase.com (800) 492-8037 New Hope Software www.bankruptcysoftware.com (800) 532-7114 EZ-Filing EZ-Filing Inc. www.ezfiling.com (800) 998-2424 BankruptcyPro Legal Pro Systems www.legal-pro.com (800) 887-0939 Collier TopForm LexisNexis www.bender.com (800) 223-1940 Thomson West www.west.thomson.com/chap7/ (800) 762-5272 Blankrupter North Winds Inc. www.nwinds.com (724) 838-8993 Bankruptcy Case Software Ruth Technology Corp. www.lawfirmsoftware.com (800) 350-8262 Forms Workflow Solution American LegalNet www.formsworkflow.com (818) 817-9225 WBank Puritas Springs Software www.puritas-springs.com (330) 278-3252 Bankruptcy Disks www.lawdisks.com 516-741-5740 Bankruptcy Master www.bankruptcymaster.com 609-439-2026 Join our LinkedIn group: www.linkedin.com/companies/713training.com-llc Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/713Trainingcom/112903945407672 Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/713TrainingDisclaimer: We at 713Training.com 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.

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