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Articles on bankruptcy petition drafting and building a remote career.

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Tips to Help You Build Your VBA Business or Law Firm

Tomorrow afternoon I am flying from Denver, Colorado to Burbank, CA to work with an attorney in starting his new bankruptcy law firm. During the time I am away, I thought I would leave you with...

190 articles

Bankruptcy Career

Slow Season Strategies for Bankruptcy Assistants: What to Do When Filings Dip

Filing volume rises and falls with the seasons and the economy. Here is how successful bankruptcy assistants use the quiet months to build the business that carries them through the busy ones.

Tools, Tech & Talk

When Bankruptcy Forms Change: A Checklist for Staying Current

Forms and rules change, sometimes with little warning. Use this checklist to find out what changed, update your process and software, and keep your attorneys informed.

Remote Work Life

Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant Business Set-Up Basics: Name, Website, Security and Insurance

A bankruptcy assistant business is simple to start but easy to set up badly. Here are the essentials: a safe business name, a one-page website, secure files, insurance questions and money basics.

Bankruptcy Career

How to Become a Bankruptcy Assistant: Your First 90 Days With No Experience

You don't need legal experience to become a bankruptcy assistant, but you do need a plan. Here is a practical first-90-days roadmap, from training to your first attorney client.

Bankruptcy Career

How to Vet Bankruptcy Attorney Clients and Networking Contacts Before You Say Yes

Not every client is a good client. Learn how to check an attorney's standing and filing activity, spot the red flags, and protect yourself with a clear agreement before you do the first petition.

Tools, Tech & Talk

Bankruptcy Petition Software Workflow: Delivering a Finished Petition to the Attorney (PDF and E-Filing)

Drafting is only half the job. Here is a clean workflow for exporting, checking and securely delivering a finished petition so the attorney can review, sign and e-file without delays.

Petition Drafting Tips

Means Test Income vs Schedule I Income: Why the Two Numbers Differ

The two income figures on a petition rarely match, and that's normal. Here is how current monthly income and Schedule I income are calculated, and how to document the difference.

Petition Drafting Tips

Student Loans and Priority Debts on Bankruptcy Schedules: How to List Them Correctly

Student loans and priority debts are easy to misplace on the schedules. Here is what to collect, where each type goes, and which questions belong with the attorney.

Chapter 13 Strategies

Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 for Bankruptcy Petition Preparers: What You Need to Understand

You don't choose the chapter, but you prepare the paperwork for both. Here is how Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 differ, and what changes in the documents you draft.

Chapter 13 Strategies

Chapter 13 Trustee Checklist: What to Have Ready Before the Plan Is Confirmed

A Chapter 13 case lives or dies on its paperwork and its plan. Use this checklist to prepare the documents, check feasibility and avoid the objections trustees raise most.

Petition Drafting Tips

Bankruptcy Schedules A Through J Explained: A Plain-English Walkthrough for Petition Preparers

Every consumer bankruptcy petition includes a set of schedules. Here is what each one asks for, how they connect, and where drafts most often go wrong.

Bankruptcy Career

Is That Legal Advice? A Cheat Sheet for Answering 12 Common Bankruptcy Debtor Questions

Debtors ask questions that sound simple and aren't. This quick-reference cheat sheet gives a safe response for 12 of the most common ones, plus a test for telling legal information from legal advice.