{"id":653,"date":"2012-08-16T17:42:12","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T17:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/?p=653"},"modified":"2012-09-12T06:08:18","modified_gmt":"2012-09-12T06:08:18","slug":"why-you-should-choose-a-local-bankruptcy-lawyer-to-represent-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/2012\/08\/why-you-should-choose-a-local-bankruptcy-lawyer-to-represent-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Choose a Local Bankruptcy Lawyer to Represent You"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ryan C. Wood<\/a><\/p>\n

We have client after client come in and tell us horror stories about using lawyers from hundreds of miles away for loan modifications and bankruptcy services.\u00a0 We have found that the fees charged are usually more than what is reasonable and the services provided our less than satisfactory.\u00a0 That is why they are now in my office to get rid of their debts.\u00a0 It is much less likely that you will be part of a scam when you are looking across a desk at the person you are doing business with.<\/p>\n

It is also illegal for anyone in California to take upfront fees for to provide loan modification services.\u00a0 Do not fall for the \u201cpre-litigation fees\u201d or \u201cforensic accounting\u201d scams.\u00a0 These people are just skirting the ban on upfront fees for loan modifications.\u00a0 We have had countless clients give thousands of dollars to loan modification companies in Southern California.\u00a0 Please only go to HUD approved companies that do not require upfront fees or provide help for free.<\/p>\n

The first and most important reason is the practice of law is still a very localized even though bankruptcy law is federal law.\u00a0 For chapter 7 bankruptcy cases there is a panel of trustees that are assigned cases each month.\u00a0 One trustee may require that you provide post-petition pay statements or bank account statements prior to the meeting of the creditors.\u00a0 Another trustee may require mortgage loan statements if you own a home or car loan statements if you have a car loan.\u00a0 For the case to go smoothly it is good to hire any bankruptcy attorney<\/a> that is familiar with these things.\u00a0 Judges in different jurisdictions also have opinions on various issues that local bankruptcy lawyers could be aware of too.\u00a0 It is not possible to ever know for certain how a judge will rule, but knowing if a judge is debtor friendly or creditor friendly is helpful.<\/p>\n

If you are filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy case it is very important to know what the standing chapter 13 trustee requires and how they want the bankruptcy petition filled out.\u00a0 While the bankruptcy petition is a form document trustees have much different opinions on how debts, assets and expenses are listed by bankruptcy lawyers<\/a>.\u00a0 What is fine to list as an expense for one trustee may not be allowed by another trustee.\u00a0 Another localized issue is the chapter 13 plan.\u00a0 Most jurisdictions have a model plan that is used.\u00a0 Some jurisdictions allow for any plan to be used to reorganize debts.\u00a0 Knowing how the trustee wants certain debts listed and what the trustee will allow as special language in a plan is very important.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hiring a local bankruptcy lawyer that is familiar with the different trustees and judges can be helpful. Some jurisdictions do not even allow special appearance attorneys to appear in cases as well. So be careful and it is best to hire someone you can look across a desk at when seeking help with your debts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[67],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":678,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653\/revisions\/678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}