THE BANKRUPTCYSERVICES.NET NEWSLETTER http://bankruptcyservices.net Bankruptcy Information on the Internet June 3, 1999 Issue 28 Dan Stanley, Editor danstanley@bankruptcyservices.net ------------------------------------------------------------ By subscription only! You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription or because you are listed in the 1999 BankruptcyServices.Net Directory. Unsubscribe instructions are at the end of this newsletter. ------------------------------------------------------------ IN THIS ISSUE ------------------------------------------------------------ => N.Y. BANKRUPTCY LAWYER THREATENED AFTER SUCCESSFUL REORGANIZATION => AVENUES OF RELIEF UNDER THE BANKRUPTCY CODE "CHAPTER 7" Part one of a three part series => How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist => Subscribe/Unsubscribe information ------------------------------------------------------------ N.Y. BANKRUPTCY LAWYER THREATENED AFTER SUCCESSFUL REORGANIZATION ------------------------------------------------------------ New York art dealer, Andrew Crispo, "has been at odds with the McDermott Will lawyers several times over the three-year span of the proceedings. He has complained that the attorneys were controlling the bankruptcy estate's purse strings too tightly." When the estate's Trustee, McDermott Will attorney, Robert Weiner, refused to approve a $2,000.00 check for him on April 22, Mr. Crispo became hostile to one of the firm's paralegals saying that he had photos of the 4-year-old daughter of one of the attorneys who had worked on the case, knew where she played and would kidnap her unless paid immediately - according to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The McDermott Will attorney whose daughter was threatened (and whose identity is being withheld) helped handle the affairs of the Chapter 11 estate so successfully that all creditors have been paid - with interest - leaving Mr. Crispo several million dollars to spare, according to Mr. Weiner. Last fall Mr. Crispo also filed a motion to disqualify Mr. Weiner as trustee on the grounds that he was moving too slowly and was being "too miserly with the money being pooled" - allegations that Mr. Weiner has denied. (From The New York Law Journal, May 27, 1999) ------------------------------------------------------------ AVENUES OF RELIEF UNDER THE BANKRUPTCY CODE CHAPTER 7 Part one of a three part series ------------------------------------------------------------ By Mark Bromley http://bankruptcyservices.net/html/states/wisconsin/~Bromley.htm Almost any person or business organization is eligible for Chapter 7 relief: it is available to individuals, partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships. U.S. citizenship is not required: the person filing bankruptcy, called the debtor, can be a citizen, an alien resident, or merely own property in U.S. There is no requirement that the debtor have any certain amount of debt or that their income is less than their expenses. There are some exclusions from Chapter 7 relief: the debtor must not be a railroad, insurance company, or bank. When a debtor files bankruptcy, a bankruptcy estate is created; the estate owns all interests of the debtor and the debtor' spouse in community property as of the commencement of the case as well as any inheritance or divorce settlement the debtor acquires or becomes entitled to acquire within 180 days of the petition date. What does not go into the estate are any earnings for services performed by an individual debtor after commencement of the case. The debtor's right to have post-bankruptcy earnings free from creditors' claims is the main benefit of filing a bankruptcy case. Debtors also have the right to claim some things, like household furnishings, insurance policies, and homestead equity, free of the claims of their creditors. The items which debtors can keep for themselves in this way are called exempt assets, because they are exempted from the things which could be taken to pay debts. The object of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is to obtain a court order eliminating the debts which existed on the date the bankruptcy court received the petition in bankruptcy. This order is called the Order of Discharge, or simply, the discharge. Another major benefit of a bankruptcy petition is freedom from telephone collection calls and lawsuits. When a bankruptcy petition is filed, the court orders all such activities stopped; a stay automatically goes into effect. The stay brings all claims against the debtor and debtor's assets before one court, gives the debtor a break from collection activity, and a chance to reorganize its finances, and reduces the incentive to be an over zealous creditor, by treating all similarly-situated creditors the same. If a creditor violates the stay, that is an act in contempt of the Bankruptcy Court's order, which is subject to the broad power of the court to remedy violations of its orders; the Court may award actual damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, and in appropriate circumstances, punitive damages, to an individual injured by a violation of the automatic stay. -- To get the entire series of Mr. Bromley's articles send a blank email to bankruptcyreport@sendfree.com -- Mark Bromley has been practicing bankruptcy and tax law for the past twenty years. He is certified as a specialist in business bankruptcy law by the American Bankruptcy Board of Certification. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bar Association, and is Chair of the Wisconsin Bar Association's Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Creditors' Rights Section; he has been a director of that section since 1987. Mr. Bromley has extensive experience with regard to tax issues related to bankruptcy proceedings, and specializes in farm credit problems. His bankruptcy practice, though focused on Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 reorganizations, also includes representation of both debtors and creditors in Chapters 7, and 13. Mr. Bromley's contact information can be found at: http://bankruptcyservices.net/html/states/wisconsin/~Bromley.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ How to be Featured as a Guest Columnist ------------------------------------------------------------ Mark Bromley knows that newsletter advertising is the best way of reaching a highly targeted audience on the Internet. He also appreciates the fact that free advertising is the best buy. That is why he sent me the article reprinted above. You probably have some consumer-oriented articles of your own that you would like to see published. 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