Now you can get your very own CUSTOMIZED e-Book of BAPCPA Man cartoons!

• Book specs:  20 pages–PDF–11″ width x 8.5″ height; 15 BAPCPA Man cartoons + cover and back page image.
• Each book customized to include your name/firm name + contact information.
• Option to include bio(s), photograph(s) and other graphics.
• Print out as many copies as you want for your clients, yourself or anyone else, and/or…
• Put them on a CD to give to clients, and/or…
• Include a link on your website for a downloadable PDF copy, and/or…
• Use them as slides in a presentation, and/or…
• Come up with other creative uses to impress your clients and friends!  (See Terms & Limits of use below.)

How it works:

1. Send e-mail to bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us to place your order.
2. Include relevant information in your email (e.g., your name or law firm name, contact info, headshot or link to headshot, etc.)
3. Make payment to us via PayPal (by clicking here).  (Or e-mail us for a snail mail address to send a check.)
4. After receiving payment, we will e-mail you your customized copy of the BAPCPA Man e-Book Vol. 1.

Read on to see some sample pages and for pricing information, customization options and more… (more…)

Note:  This site is best viewed using a Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser.  If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar.  Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.

Like this cartoon?  Want a customized version for your blog or to use as a greeting card?  We’ll be doing a Christmas/Chanukah holiday cartoon as well.  So get in touch now to place your order if you’d like a customized holiday cartoon image to share with your clients.

E-mail: bill  @  bankruptcybill  .  us

(We’re just getting started with all the creative potential and possibilities.  So stay tuned for more or feel free to contact us to discuss your own ideas.)

In the meanwhile, have a look below at the customized Thanksgiving cartoons we did for the bankruptcy law firms of Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV) and Allmand & Lee (Dallas, TX).

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Get your BAPCPA Man and Mortgantua T-shirts, Mugs, Cards and More!

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://gideonkendall.com/blog.  Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.

Bankruptcy Bill will be in Texas this week, both literally and virtually!

1.  I’ll be attending the Jay Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference at the University of Texas Law School, which means I’ll be in Austin, TX from Wednesday, Nov 18 through Friday, Nov 20.

2.  A special “Texas edition” of Bankruptcy Bill will be running in the newsletter for the Bankruptcy Section for the State Bar of Texas due out this week along with a profile about the cartoon.

I’m looking forward to meeting any Bankruptcy Bill and BAPCPA Man fans in attendance, so please come up and say hi if you recognize me or feel free to get in touch in advance as well.

-Steven

E-mail: bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us

What happens when you take two spirited six-year-old boys who love to use their imagination and pretend to be Power Rangers, and it also happens that both of their fathers are bankruptcy attorneys?

Read this amusing post by Long Island bankruptcy attorney Craig Robins to find out.

It’s official.  Bankruptcy Bill (‘s creator) has joined the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI)!

"No, Struck, I don't think there's any chance they'll change their name to the American Bankruptcy Bill Institute."

Bankruptcy Bill

and the following blog-loving bankruptcy lawyers:

• Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
• George Haines & David Krieger (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
• Russell A. DeMott – Charleston Bankruptcy Blog (Charleston, SC)
• Nancy Rapoport (nancyrapoport.blogspot.com), the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)

are pleased and excited to announce the first-ever…..

Bankruptcy Song Contest!

1.  FIRST PRIZE: Announcement of the winning entry in a BAPCPA Man cartoon (which will include a cartoon drawing of the winner as one of the characters), plus a signed print of the cartoon.

2.  SECOND PRIZE: A BAPCPA Man t-shirt (or other item from our fabulous catalog of BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill merchandise on Zazzle)

PLUS…

3.  DONATION:  Bankruptcy Bill and each of the above-listed sponsors will collectively make a donation to the National Consumer Law Center in the amount of $25 for each song submitted in this contest.*

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 5:30 pm EST

How the contest works:

1. E-mail your song(s) to bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us.  (Up to 5 submissions allowed per person or group.)  Submissions are just lyrics, by the way.  Do not send music.  (That’ll come later.)
2. Include: (1) Your name(s), (2) your law firm name (if applicable and desired), (3) city & state, (4) a short 1 or 2 sentence bio about yourself, and (5) any links or contact info.  (All of this info will appear with your song submission when it’s posted.)
3. After the deadline, all entries will be posted on the Bankruptcy Bill site and readers will be invited to vote.
4. The winning entry will be announced in a BAPCPA Man cartoon strip, and the winner will be a included as a cartoon character in the strip.
5. Stay tuned for a future contest/project where we invite people to submit recordings of the songs.

Comments:  Contest is open to anyone and everyone. Songs must be original, i.e., written by the person(s) submitting.  However, it doesn’t have to be new.  It’s fine if you already wrote it 3 years ago while sitting through a deathly boring CLE presentation.  Songs can be about anything and in any style, as long as they tie in to bankruptcy somehow. You’re more than welcome to indicate if the lyrics are intended for a particular tune or style of music, though it’s not necessary.

Intellectual Property: By sending us your submission, you’re of course giving us permission to post the song lyrics on the Bankruptcy Bill site.  But don’t worry.  Other than that, you keep all the intellectual property rights in the song.

*Contest Modifications: Since this is the first time we’ve tried something like this, we reserve the right to modify the rules or adapt appropriately using logic and common sense if there’s something we overlooked or that needs to be addressed.  Also, if we receive some unexpectedly large number of submissions, we’re not going to bankrupt the sponsors/donors or overly tax their coffers.  We’ll just cap it at some appropriate amount, probably work a reference into cartoon somewhere and just go with that groovy BAPCPA flow.

Why are we doing this? Because it’s fun and educational.  The goal is to draw on the latent creativity out there in the bankruptcy world, come up with some good (or at least half-decent) songs, build on the liturgy of bankruptcy pop culture and have a good time with all of this along the way.

Questions? E-mail bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us

Inspiration: Have a listen to Bankruptcy Lover, the original country song about corporate bankruptcy.  Click here for the lyrics.  (For the record, Bankruptcy Lover is not eligible for this contest.)

Additional Inspiration (11.15.09): Check out this post by bankruptcy lawyer Craig Robins on his Long Island Bankruptcy Blog which includes an already existing bankruptcy song by Michael Silverstein of Bloomberg Financial Press on his website www.wallstreetpoet.com.

"So I says to Russ..."

Friends of Bankruptcy Bill (FOBB) are experienced consumer bankruptcy lawyers willing to share their thoughts and answer bankruptcy questions on this site. Feel free to get in touch if interested in contributing as a FOBB.

Russell A. DeMott, Esq. is a Charleston, SC-based bankruptcy attorney with over 14 years of experience representing debtors in wide range of bankruptcy matters.  Originally from Michigan, he is licensed to practice in both South Carolina and Michigan.  To learn more about Russ, you can visit his website (www.scbankruptcyattorney.com) or his blog (www.scbankruptcyattorney.com/blog) and also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Russell A. DeMott, Esq.

Filing Bankruptcy to Surrender Assets (Sometimes it’s best)

When evaluating your financial situation, don’t let your emotions get in the way.  Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be the right solution, especially if you have assets with no equity.

I recently met a very distressed client.  He had three houses that he had been trying to keep for over two years.  Two of the properties were worth over $400,000 each.  One was worth about $200,000.   However, on each of the properties, the mortgage balances far exceeded the value.  The client had over a million dollars in property, but he owed far more than that.

As we discussed his financial goals and ability to pay his debts, I explained to him that the calculator on my desk was worth more than all three of these properties combined.  He looked puzzled.  After I explained that the calculator was worth something–at least a dollar–and that I owned it free and clear of any liens, I could see that he finally understood.  He also understood that the house payments he’d been paying were nothing more than rent.  It would be years and years before he even got to the break even point with the properties.

Photo by Michael Mulligan

He had been struggling for years to keep the properties.  He’d tried the HAMP (“Home Affordable Modification Program”), he’d tried negotiating, and he’d written letters.  All this was to no avail.  He was emotionally exhausted.  My recommendation was that he file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and surrender the properties.

He left relieved.  He looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.  He understood that he couldn’t go on like this and was glad he took time to learn that the bankruptcy laws could give him a fresh start.

Keep in mind that the value of your property is in the equity (fair market value less what you owe on it in mortgages and other liens).  If you have no equity and you can’t afford the monthly payments, you need to take a hard look at just why you are trying to keep these properties.  Think with your head and not your heart.  And keep focused on what’s really important in life.

"So I says to Bill..."

Friends of Bankruptcy Bill (FOBB) are experienced consumer bankruptcy lawyers willing to share their thoughts and answer bankruptcy questions on this site. Feel free to get in touch if interested in contributing as a FOBB.

Bill McLeod is a Boston-based bankruptcy attorney, representing creditors and debtors with over 15 years of experience. You can learn more about this and read more of his blog posts at www.mcleodlawoffices.com. Follow him on Twitter.  Find him on Facebook.

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Bill McLeod, Esq.

Who really files for bankruptcy?

What leads a person to the steps of the bankruptcy court seeking relief from debt? That is not an easy question to answer – although there are some out there who may think they know the answer. But as I was digesting a recent opinion out of the Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas, I read the following:

Anecdotally, this court notes that it sees all sorts of consumer debtors come through the bankruptcy system. At one end of the spectrum, there are individuals who have been plagued with many bad circumstances that have led to their financial demise-such as health problems, injuries, medical bills, job loss or instability, divorce, or death of a bread winner. At the other end of the spectrum, there are individuals who have been blessed with good health and adequate jobs and resources, and yet have somehow created a mountain of consumer debt that they (and probably their creditors) should have known could never be repaid. Some of these latter individuals have even engaged in some sort of fraud along the way-perhaps in a loan application at some point, or with intentional avoidance and nonpayment of taxes, or by hiding assets before entering into bankruptcy.

But the vast majority of debtors this court sees fall somewhere between the two extremes. They are individuals who probably cannot honestly blame “bad luck” as the cause of all of their woes. And many of them have made more poor choices than wise ones, and such choices have finally caught up with them.

So what does this mean, and why am I sharing it with you? The easiest answer is that it is my experience that the court is right. However, there’s a rather significant “but…” (more…)

Just noticed that if you Google the term “bankruptcy bill,” a Bankruptcy Bill post comes up as the 5th item listed.  Not bad to be 5 out of 8,860,000.

Update: Now we’re #3 out of 9,940,000!  (Not sure what changed.  Maybe the Bankruptcy Law Network post by Russ DeMott helped?)

Note:  If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar.  Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.

Special thanks to Gregory A. Holbus, Esq. of  Green Bay, WI for sharing both his bankruptcy expertise and sense of humor with us for this cartoon.  For more of Greg’s bankruptcy expertise, go to Wisconsin Bankruptcy Blog.

Meanwhile, here’s a blog post on the intersection of Halloween and bankruptcy by George Haines of Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV):

• This Year, Halloween is Spookier Than Ever for Those Considering Bankruptcy

Still searching for a Halloween costume?  Go as a lawyer.  Or better yet, go as J.R. Ewing’s laywer.  Here’s an Attorney Directory along with info on Dallas Bankruptcy to give you more ideas.

Be Facebook friends with:

• BAPCPA Man – http://facebook.com/bapcpaman
• Mortgantua – http://facebook.com/mortgantua

Click here to get your BAPCPA Man and Mortgantua T-shirts, Mugs, Cards and More!

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com.  Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.