The Role of the Bankruptcy Trustee

The bankruptcy trustee is the designated representative of
the bankruptcy estate who exercises statutory powers,
principally for the benefit of the unsecured creditors,
under the general supervision of the court and the direct
supervision of the U.S. trustee or bankruptcy administrator.

The trustee is a private individual or corporation
appointed in all chapter 7, chapter 12, and chapter 13
cases and some chapter 11 cases. The trustee's
responsibilities include reviewing the debtor's petition
and schedules and bringing actions against creditors or the
debtor to recover property of the bankruptcy estate.

In chapter 7, the trustee liquidates any non-exempt
property of the estate, and makes distributions to
creditors. The chapter 7 trustee will examine the debtor's
pay advices and tax returns which are required to be
submitted under the current law. The trustee will ask the
debtor questions, under oath, to determine whether or not
there are assets available for distribution. Trustees in
chapter 12 and 13 have similar duties to a chapter 7
trustee and the additional responsibilities of overseeing
the debtor's plan, receiving payments from debtors, and
disbursing plan payments to creditors.

In the counties surrounding Chicago, Glenn Stearns is the
standing Chapter 13 trustee. Mr. Stearns is a hands-on
trustee who takes an active role in the bankruptcy process.
He often conducts 341 meetings of creditors whereby he
examines the debtor as it relates to the information
contained in the schedules. He also appears before the
Judge to offer his opinion with regard to confirmation
issues. Mr. Stearns further appears at Trustee's motions
such as the Trustee's motion to dismiss.

Additionally, Mr. Stearns has made the two-hour,
post-filing, debtor education class available through his
office. As long as the debtor's case has been assigned to
Glenn Stearns as Trustee, the debtor can attend the class
free of charge. The class is often scheduled on the same
date and location as the debtor's 341 creditors' meeting.
This is very convenient for the debtor in that there is no
excuse not to take the class. Since the two-hour education
is required prior to receiving a discharge, it makes sense
to take the class early and get it out of the way.

Much of the debtor's case information is made available on
the trustee's website. This feature is extremely helpful
in determining which creditors have filed claims and to
what extent those claims are being paid. Lastly, the
trustee can be reach via telephone for any additional
questions from either the debtor or his counsel.

----------------------------------------------------
David M. Siegel is the author of Chapter 7 Success: The
Complete Guide to Surviving Personal Bankruptcy. He is a
member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and currently
practices bankruptcy law in Chicago and its surrounding
suburbs. Additional information is available at
http://www.chapter7success.com .

Florida Divorce

In recent years, the number of divorces seen nation-wide
has increased dramatically. Currently, there is a 40%
chance that a person's first marriage will end in divorce.
The number does not get better for subsequent attempts with
60% of second marriages ending in divorce and 75% of third
marriages ending. With the rise in these costs, there was a
trend in Florida for people to represent themselves in
their divorce proceedings.

Pro se litigants, Latin meaning "for himself, in his own
behalf, in person," means that a person does not hire a
lawyer to represent him in a civil or criminal matter. In
divorce, this is a risky option because divorce laws are so
complicated and the battles can take months. Does an
individual really have the time to think about this stuff
for months on end if they are also trying to work at the
same time? I think not. The main reason that people are
representing themselves in divorce proceedings is that they
cannot afford the legal representation. Many people can not
afford to hire a lawyer but do not qualify for free or pro
bono representation. Other people that are conducting their
own divorce proceedings can hire a lawyer but choose not to
do so.

This trend has prompted the Florida legislature to change
the laws concerning divorce attorneys. It used to be that
all of an attorney's services for a divorce were bundled
into one (expensive) package. It did not matter how simple
your divorce was going to be, you got all of the available
services. Attorneys present at hearings and negotiations,
beautifully drafter separation agreements. You name it, you
got it. This method, however, made divorce attorneys
extremely expensive. Under the new laws, attorneys can
unbundle their services. This allows for an A La Carte menu
of services from which prospective clients can choose to
order. A person can choose to have an attorney draft a
separation agreement but not be present for an uncontested
divorce hearing. This has made the services of attorney's
much more affordable. In addition, it allows the legal
climate to be more "user friendly".

Unfortunately, alimony hearings are still quite complicated
and inconsistent. As it stands now, one never knows quite
what will happen in an alimony hearing. The three main
variables are the judge, the county, and the individual
case. So basically, a person never knows what to expect. A
solution to this problem would be to have a point system in
place. Points would be assigned for various factors such as
length of the marriage and standard of living during the
marriage and then added up. The total number of points
would be easily translated to a monetary amount of alimony.
The judge would not have to agree in whole to this number,
but it could at least serve as a starting point. This would
give the alimony process the same level of stability and
predictability that the child support process already has.

----------------------------------------------------
Joe Devine
For more information, visit http://www.kleinattorneys.com/

Secrets Kept From Juries In Personal Injury Cases (Civil Cases)gqukm

Many are more than a little surprised to learn about
certain facts and procedures that occur in our legal system
which are very common in personal injury claims. One
surprising fact is how much information is hidden from the
jury. Specifically information that is kept from juries in
personal injury cases which include car accident cases,
wrongful death, medical malpractice, etc.

For example, the attorneys and judge are prohibited from
even mentioning whether a party has insurance, and if they
do, a mistrial will typically occur. The jury will never
be told if the defendant has INSURANCE and if so, how much.

It is important to note that if a case is filed in court,
or if it goes to trial, the defendant will almost always
have INSURANCE. The plaintiff and their lawyer will not
devote hundreds of hours to work up and pursue a claim
unless there is a guaranteed source of recovery (i.e., an
insurance policy to pay a verdict). Jurors hearing a civil
case can rest assured the defendant will have the means to
pay any verdict that is handed down.

The defendant's insurance company hires the lawyer, decides
when to settle, basically makes all of the decisions when a
case is in litigation. Most of the time the defendant has
very little say about how the case is defended or if a
settlement should occur. The decision about whether to
settle, by how much, etc. are always made by the INSURANCE
CARRIER.

Filing a lawsuit does not mean your case will be heard by a
jury. Most personal injury attorneys would rather have a
JUDGE decide the case instead of a jury. This is because
too many jurors are highly SUSPICIOUS and SKEPTICAL of
injured plaintiffs, and often refuse to give money for
legitimate injuries based on a variety of reasons. To have
a case resolved by a jury, one must file a specific
document with the court and pay a $250 JURY FEE. If the
plaintiff or defendant fails to file a JURY DEMAND, then
the judge will hear and decide the case (unless the case
settles before the trial date).

In more than 90-95% of personal injury lawsuits, it is the
defendant's INSURANCE COMPANY that has requested a jury!
Why is this true? Because juries will typically award less
money (and sometimes no money) in personal injury cases
than the judge will award.

Insurance companies are fully aware of the statistics that
show a jury will typically award much LESS MONEY to an
injured plaintiff than an experienced judge, especially in
certain types of claims, like medical malpractice, soft
tissue injuries, and other cases which may be difficult to
prove.

**In most MEDICAL MALPRACTICE lawsuits (at least 90-95% of
cases), it is the doctor's defense attorney that files the
Jury Demand and pays the required jury fee of $250! Yep,
doctors complain of "runaway jury awards," yet the DOCTORS'
ATTORNEYS routinely ask that the cases against them be
heard by a jury!

**Most plaintiff's attorneys will try to resolve smaller
injury claims (less than $50,000) through settlement
negotiations or by court-ordered arbitration. A program
known as MANDATORY ARBITRATION allows the court to appoint
a retired judge or experienced attorney (someone who is
approved by the court) to decide the case in an expedient
and cost effective manner, as an alternative to going to
trial in court.

**You can APPEAL an ARBITRATION AWARD by requesting that
the case be tried in court. However, if the party who
appeals the award fails to do better at trial, that party
will have to pay the non-appealing party's attorney fees
and costs.

**In more than 90-95% of personal injury claims that go to
arbitration and are appealed, it is the DEFENDANT or the
defendant's INSURANCE COMPANY who appeal the award! Most
plaintiff attorneys will rarely appeal an arbitration award
because it creates a significant risk that the individual
client may have to pay for the defendant's insurance
defense costs.

If an arbitration award is appealed and goes to trial, the
jury will never be told that the case was first resolved by
arbitration. And the jury will never be told the amount of
the arbitrator's award.

The jury will be left with the impression that the
plaintiff and his/her attorney has forced them to come to
court to decide a small case that should have been SETTLED
. Often times the jury will resent a plaintiff in a small
case, believing that the plaintiff is "litigious" or trying
to "hit the jackpot" and then award the plaintiff a very
small percentage of what would be considered a fair verdict
(or sometimes nothing at all as payback for filing a
lawsuit in such a small case).

----------------------------------------------------
Christopher M. Davis is the managing partner of Davis Law
Group. He brings over 15 years of practical yet innovative
experience to personal injury cases. He practices law in
Seattle, WA. You can learn more about Mr. Davis at
http://www.InjuryTrialLawyer.com or
http://www.seattleaccidentnews.com .

Attorneys Referral

Whether you are buying a bigger home, filing for divorce,
or preparing a will, you need a good lawyer to help you
negotiate the complex provisions of the law. But hiring the
right attorney can be quite a task, especially because you
need to be able to trust this person enough to confide your
problems and dilemmas in him. Naturally, interviewing the
first five names in the yellow pages of the telephone
directory is not the right way to go about it.

A better way instead is to talk to your family and friends
who have gone through similar situation and ask them for an
attorneys referral. If you have prior experience with
attorneys, you could ask them if they can give you legal
assistance. If they do not have the expertise to handle
your case, ask them for other attorneys referrals. When a
practicing lawyer recommends a professional from his
fraternity, you can be sure that you have a good attorneys
referral at hand. Another good option is to contact the
local state bar associations and enquire if they sponsor
lawyer referral programs. Most often they can refer you to
an attorney with the expertise required. Now determine your
parameters for selecting one attorney over another.
Ideally, start with the demographics.

Would you be more comfortable with a male or female
attorney? How old? Then move onto other specifics, such as
how do they prefer to charge for their services, by the
hour or a flat fee? Will you need to pay for their phone
calls and travel on your case? These are important
questions. Try to prepare an in-depth questionnaire to get
a perfect picture of what you expect from your attorney.
This exercise will also help you put together a short list
of candidates that you would like to call. Next, meet with
a few attorneys to get an idea of how they would approach
your case. Try to get as many answers to your questions as
possible. Also, find out how experienced they are. Have
they handled similar cases in the recent past? Check if
they are willing to provide you with references to clients
who you can call. These calls should help you gauge if the
clients were happy with their services.

If you don't have the time for going through the whole
rigmarole, try using an attorneys referral service. It's a
quick and easy way to locate an attorney who meets your
specific needs.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information about Attorneys Referral please visit:
http://www.international-business-referral-site.co.uk/attorney-referral.html