The Bankruptcy Lawyers Blog

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

 

Contact

Kelly Arduz

Start Fresh Today

(954) 377-9330

karduz@startfreshtoday.com

 

 

 

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, – Start Fresh Today, one of the nation’s largest providers of federally-required consumer bankruptcy courses, will be in San Antonio, Texas for the 20^th Annual NACBA Conference. The conference will be held at the Marriott Rivercenter from April 26 to April 29, 2012. During the conference, bankruptcy attorneys from around the country will visit with exhibitors and attend a number of seminars, which are eligible for at least 13 hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE). 

 

Start Fresh Today will be a sponsor of the Annual NACBA Conference and will also be an exhibitor (Booth # 56) promoting the launch of their new website, service level packages, and bankruptcy software integration. In April 2012, Start Fresh Today will launch their highly anticipated new website, which will include enhanced features such as easier navigation for attorneys and consumers, a variety of customized bankruptcy course packages, various service levels and pricing options, and a fully-integrated platform with major bankruptcy software providers. Start Fresh Today's platform will be fully-integrated with software providers Best Case Solutions, BankruptcyPRO, Bankruptcy2012, and EZ-Filing Software through one of its long time strategic partners, CIN Legal Data Services.

 

During the NACBA Conference, Start Fresh Today will also host two invitation-only cocktail parties on the evenings of Friday, April 27^th and Saturday, April 28^th.  The cocktail parties will be held in the Presidential Suite of the Marriott Rivercenter in honor of their clients and strategic partners and will include live music, hors d’oeuvres, and a raffle.  

 

“Every year we are excited about this opportunity to meet with several of our clients and strategic partners during the annual NACBA conference,” said Cris Frankel, CEO of Start Fresh Today. “This year is particularly exciting because we want to share the news of our new website launch, new bankruptcy course service levels, and the industry’s long awaited software integration. What we are announcing is truly an industry first.”

 

About Start Fresh Today

Founded in 2005, Start Fresh Today, Inc. was developed by bankruptcy attorneys and technology professionals to assist consumers and their attorneys in fulfilling BAPCPA requirements quickly and easily. In addition to delivering EOUST-approved Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses within a nationally-recognized proprietary platform, Start Fresh Today has also positioned itself as the one-stop-shop where consumer bankruptcy attorneys can access due diligence products and enjoy a fully-integrated bankruptcy software platform. To learn more about Start Fresh Today, call (800) 247-0864 or visit www.startfreshtoday.com.

 

About NACBA (National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys)

Formed in 1992, NACBA is the only national organization dedicated to serving the needs of consumer bankruptcy attorneys and protecting the rights of consumer debtors in bankruptcy. NACBA has also played a critical role in many important court cases affecting the rights of consumer bankruptcy debtors by filing amicus briefs in U.S. Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court. In addition, NACBA provides the most comprehensive educational programs in the country for consumer bankruptcy attorneys with its annual conventions and workshops. NACBA now has more than 4,000 members located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.nacba.org. 

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Start Fresh Today to Sponsor Annual NACBA Conference in San Antonio

Start Fresh Today is excited to announce that we will be in San Antonio, Texas from April 26- April 29, 2012 for the 20^th Annual NACBA Conference at the Marriott Rivercenter. During the conference, bankruptcy attorneys from around the country will visit with exhibitors and attend a number of seminars including:

• The latest legislative news, updates on the Rules Committee, and recent work of the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center
• Protecting retirement and business assets
• Understanding tax claims in bankruptcy
• Moving forward with reverse mortgages
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• Securitization
• And much more!

Certificates of Attendance for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) will also be available for attendees and most states grant at least 13 hours of CLE credit.

Start Fresh Today will be hosting two invitation-only cocktail parties in honor of their clients and strategic partners. The parties will be held in the Presidential Suite of the Marriott Rivercenter on Friday, April 27^th and Saturday, April 28^th following NACBA’s reception.

During the course of the conference, San Antonio’s famed Fiesta celebration will also be taking place. Participating restaurants and nightlife spots that display the “Show Us Your Badge” logo, offer patron discounts upon presenting your official conference badge. In addition, retailers and restaurants at the San Antonio International Airport also offer a 10% discount to attendees.

We hope that you will join us in San Antonio during this informative (and fun) conference. Be sure to stop by booth # 56 to meet the Start Fresh Today team, get the scoop on Start Fresh Today’s new initiatives, and pick up some great giveaways.   

About Start Fresh Today

Founded in 2005, Start Fresh Today, Inc. was developed by bankruptcy attorneys and technology professionals to assist consumers and their attorneys in fulfilling BAPCPA requirements quickly and easily. In addition to delivering EOUST-approved Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses within a nationally-recognized proprietary platform, Start Fresh Today has also positioned itself as the one-stop-shop where consumer bankruptcy attorneys access due diligence products and receive free document storage. To learn more about Start Fresh Today, call (800) 247-0864, email friends@startfreshtoday.com  or visit www.startfreshtoday.com.

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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Contact
Stephanie Tolley
Start Fresh Today
(954) 377-9368 phone
stolley@startfreshtoday.com

Start Fresh Today® and LegalPRO Systems, Inc. form Strategic Partnership to Deliver
Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses

Integration Provides Expanded, Single-Source Access to Consumer Bankruptcy Solutions

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, January 14, 2012 – Start Fresh Today, one of the nation’s largest providers of federally-required consumer bankruptcy courses today announced the integration of its pre-filing credit counseling and post-filing debtor education courses with LegalPRO Systems, Inc., a leading developer and supplier of bankruptcy software solutions for attorneys. Under the integration agreement, Start Fresh Today will deliver its courses directly through the LegalPRO platform, BankruptcyPRO® (http://www.legal-pro.com/2012/01/order-credit-counseling-debtor-education-bankruptcypro/) and provide access to a host of other products and services to help attorneys comply with the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA).

The new partnership means that participating bankruptcy attorneys and their consumer clients can now enjoy single-source access to the required courses.

"Our integration with Start Fresh Today further expands the features and functionality of the BankruptcyPRO® platform," said Keith Crusius, President of LegalPRO Systems, Inc. "Our bankruptcy attorney customers now have fast, convenient access to the consumer data they need to support their clients efficiently and confidently."

LegalPRO Systems, Inc. is the most recent Start Fresh Today strategic partnership for 2012. The integration capabilities this partnership provides will leverage information exchange to benefit consumers in the bankruptcy process and their attorneys.

"We are pleased to partner with LegalPRO Systems, Inc., one of the industry’s leading providers of advanced bankruptcy software solutions," said Cris Frankel, CEO for Start Fresh Today. "The seamless integration provides our mutual bankruptcy attorney customers and their consumer clients with quick and efficient access to their required courses – all from a single online source: http://www.legal-pro.com/2012/01/order-credit-counseling-debtor-education-bankruptcypro/.

About Start Fresh Today

Founded in 2005, Start Fresh Today, Inc. was developed by bankruptcy attorneys and technology professionals to assist consumers and their attorneys in fulfilling BAPCPA requirements quickly and easily. In addition to delivering EOUST-approved Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses within a nationally-recognized proprietary platform, Start Fresh Today has also positioned itself as the one-stop-shop where consumer bankruptcy attorneys access due diligence products and receive free document storage. To learn more about Start Fresh Today, call (800) 247-0864 or visit www.startfreshtoday.com.

About LegalPRO Systems, Inc.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, LegalPRO Systems, Inc., has been pioneering bankruptcy software solutions for attorneys since 1985. The company’s flagship product, BankruptcyPRO®, is an easy-to-use, feature-rich software solution that helps attorneys assist consumers with bankruptcy filings quickly and efficiently. Serving small to large law firms, LegalPRO Systems, Inc. was founded by Charles A. Fielder, III (Charlie).  His goal was to assist the bankruptcy practitioners to get cases entered and filed more efficiently.   With the advent of CM/ECF, BankruptcyPRO® was even more helpful as it could generate the official forms into PDF files needed by the courts, calculate the exemptions, and handle Chapter 13 plan calculation. For more information, call (210) 561-5300 or visit www.legal-pro.com.

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Are African-Americans not getting the "fresh start" they deserve when filing for bankruptcy? According to a new study entitled "Race, Attorney Influence, and Bankruptcy Chapter Choice," by Jean Braucher of the University of Arizona and Dov Cohen and Robert Lawless, both of the University of Illinois, blacks file Chapter 13 at higher rates than all other races.

The abstract states that "although chapter 13 can offer some legal advantages for persons seeking to
protect valuable assets such as a house or automobile, it generally offers less relief and costs more than the primary alternative available to consumers, chapter 7. The chief feature of a chapter 13 bankruptcy case is a plan under which the debtor must devote all of his or her disposable income to creditor repayment over a 3‐ to 5‐year period. Chapter 7, in contrast, requires only that the debtor turn over all nonexempt assets, with over 90% of chapter 7 debtors having no assets to turn over."

You can download the full paper from the Social Science Research Network here.

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The Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel’s Cary Spivak reported on the latest ruling cracking down on the “hotbed for bankruptcy petition preparers” that is Milwaukee. Chief Bankruptcy Judge Pamela Pepper cited Jennell McKinley for contempt of court and will be facing possible criminal charges.

McKinley is the fifth preparer to be found in contempt. Bankruptcy court officials argue that some preparers’ filings leave out critical information causing dismissal of the case and leaving the debtor liable.

The bankruptcy filer in the McKinley case, Richard Marek, paid $180 for the assistance in filing bankruptcy which was filled with numerous errors and omissions that led to a “nightmare” of a 341 meeting.

Judge Pepper has ordered McKinley to return the $180 to Marek, plus an additional $500 fine. Even better news for Marek is that a generous local attorney heard about his situation and is handling his case pro bono.

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According to a new report from Fitch Ratings, 2011 personal bankruptcy filings declined by 12% to 1.35 million from the year earlier. It was the first decline in four years, possibly resulting from somewhat improved economic conditions and decreased consumer spending.

Credit card charge-offs, which are directly affected by bankruptcy filings, fell significantly through 2011, sliding 37% from the year earlier. Lower personal bankruptcies had a less profound, but still important, effect on auto ABS, Fitch said.

Fitch said it plans to release its 2012 bankruptcy forecast in the coming weeks.

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When a debt collection company or buyer shows up in District Court, they are usually just going by a person’s name, last known address and Social Security number to obtain a judgment against that person.

Reacting to a flood of uncontested debt collection cases, the Maryland high court has just ruled that for all cases filed on or after January 20, 2012, collectors and creditors must produce actual proof that the debtor incurred the debt. It is a national problem that has generated concern among the District Court, the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation and the Office of the Attorney General.

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You’re stuck at the office but things have slowed to a crawl. The phone’s not ringing and you’ve already updated your Facebook page. What to do?

The Legal Intelligencer has a great post by Neen James with some great tips for cleaning up and preparing for the New Year by organizing your 2011 mess including:

• Clearing, deleting or filing those read e-mails in your inbox.
• Throwing out unwanted, unread journals that you have been "meaning" to read, but haven’t and won’t.
• Entering details into your contact management system of the business card pile that is gathering dust on your desk.

In addition to those mundane housekeeping tasks, she also offers ideas for activities involving your firm’s team and client strategies.

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In the past, our firm, Acclaim Legal Services, mainly filed Chapter 13 bankruptcies to stop foreclosure sales and give borrowers the opportunity to cure outstanding mortgage arrearages. More and more, we are seeing clients choosing to surrender their property under the Chapter 13 plan due to severely declined house values. Chapter 7 may seem like the obvious choice when surrender of property is the goal, however, in many circumstances an individual may not be eligible for Chapter 7 (e.g., too much income, prior Ch. 7 within 8 years) or their overall circumstances may dictate that a Chapter 13 is more appropriate (e.g., non-exempt property exists and client seeks to avoid liquidation; substantial priority debt exists that the debtor needs an opportunity to pay as it would be non-dischargeable in Ch. 7; debtor seeks to reorganize other secured debts such as a vehicle while surrendering his or her home).

The majority of states are “recourse” jurisdictions which allow mortgage companies to pursue borrowers for deficiencies that remain following a foreclosure sale. Previously, if homeowners had just a first mortgage, they generally could walk away without further obligation or indebtedness to the mortgage holder. This was primarily due to the mortgagee submitting a “full debt bid” at the foreclosure sale thus negating the possibility of a deficiency on the note. The tide has now turned and we are seeing banks begin to submit less than full debt bids and subsequently pursue borrowers for loan deficiencies after the foreclosure sale.  A recent Wall Street Journal article, “House is Gone but Debt Lives On,” detailed the national trend: Visit our website for more information.

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