Bankruptcy Without Attorney is Bad Idea

Think again before you decide to represent yourself in bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy is a technical area of law full of traps for the unwary.  As the old saying goes a person who represents himself has a fool for a client.

Seriously, many people who have attempted to represent themselves in bankruptcy have gotten themselves into big trouble, have lost property they didn’t have to lose, and have cost themselves more time and money than a bankruptcy attorney would have cost.

If you do file your own bankruptcy and mess it up,Continue Reading

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Can They Take My Home Away from Me if I File Bankruptcy in Kansas?

Kansans in financial distress often ask, “Will I will lose my home if I file bankruptcy?“  The simple answer is that most Kansans do not lose their home if they file for bankruptcy.  We are lucky in Kansas to have a homestead law that protects one acre of land in the city and 160 acres of land in the country from forced sale. There is no limit on the dollar value of the homestead.

The longer answer to the question, though, is that some Kansans filing for bankruptcy relief will lose their homesteads to mortgage foreclosure, but probably not to the bankruptcy. Occasionally, bankruptcy filers lose their homes in bankruptcy because their home does not qualify for Kansas homestead protection or other exception to the general rule.

Kansas homesteads are not exempt for debtsContinue Reading

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Mark Neis Recertified as Consumer Bankruptcy Law Specialist

Bankruptcy Specialist Mark Neis

Topeka attorney Mark W Neis has been recertified as a consumer bankruptcy law specialist by the American Board of Certification.

You expect certification from your doctor – expect it from your lawyer too. Board certification means that Neis has met rigorous, objective standards and has demonstrated knowledge in consumer bankruptcy law.  Mark Neis and his law partner, Jill Michaux are the only Topeka attorneys board certified in consumer bankruptcy law.

The American Board of Certification is the nation’s premier legal specialty certification organization – certifying attorneys as specialists in business bankruptcy, consumer bankruptcy and creditors’ rights law. Only eight Kansas attorneys are board certified in consumer bankruptcy law.

Mark Neis has been helping consumers and small business proprietors in chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy cases for 31 years.  He was board certified in 1993 and has been recertified every five years since. Call Mark today for bankruptcy help at 785-354-1471.

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Kansas City, Kansas "Till" Rate

The trustee’s discount rate (“Till rate”) paid on secured claims in chapter 13 bankruptcy cases filed in Kansas City, Kansas, is 4.75% for cases filed in June 2009.

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Bankruptcy: Mortgage Meltdown Melodrama at Attorney Seminar

Mortgage Meltdown Melodrama – Tied to the Railroad Track:  A Story of Villains, Heroes, and Happy Endings will be featured at the 20th annual conference of the Kansas Women Attorneys Association in Lindsborg in July.

Kansas Chief Bankruptcy Judge Robert Nugent, Chapter 13 Standing Bankruptcy Trustee Laurie Williams and Chapter 7 Interim Trustees Patricia Hamilton and Jill Olsen will present the continuing legal education in bankruptcy.

Pulitzer prize winning columnist Ellen Goodman of the Washington Post is the keynote address speaker.

More information about the Lindsborg conference may be found on the KWAA website.

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Jill Michaux Re-Elected to Bankruptcy Law Network Leadership Post

Bankruptcy Law Network

Jill A Michaux was re-elected to a second term as treasurer of the Bankruptcy Law Network, LLC, at its annual meeting May 31, 2009, in Chicago.  Bankruptcy Law Network, a group of 25 nationally recognized bankruptcy attorneys, provides four portals of free online information about bankruptcy, credit, debt and mortgages from trusted and reliable sources to more than 125,000 unique visitors each month.

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