Can I Pay the Attorney Fees After I File Bankruptcy?

One of the questions I get asked the most during a consultation with a potential client is, "Can I pay some of the attorney fees now and then pay the rest after my bankruptcy case is filed?" The question is understandable since we are dealing with filing for bankruptcy. It would not be a stretch to say that most of our clients do not have the funds upfront to pay for the attorney fees and costs. If they had the money just lying around they probably would not have to file for bankruptcy. In order to understand the answer you would need to know a little bit about how bankruptcy works. The answer would also be different depending on whether you are filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases

Everyone you owe money to on the day you file for bankruptcy is considered to be a creditor in your bankruptcy petition. As soon as you file for bankruptcy there is an automatic stay in place that prevents any of your creditors from trying to collect any money from you. They cannot contact you, send you any mail, or pursue any legal action against you once they receive notice that you have filed for bankruptcy. This is one of the most powerful tools of bankruptcy. The automatic stay is why most people file for bankruptcy: to get relief from their debts and their debt collectors. If you only pay some of the attorney fees prior to your Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, your Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney cannot legally ask you to pay the rest after your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is filed.

The debt you owe your Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer is included as part of the general unsecured non-priority debt. This is the same category your credit card debts, medical bills, personal loans, and other unsecured debts are included in. These debts will be discharged if you are eligible for a Chapter 7 discharge. If your bankruptcy attorney tried to collect the debt you owe to him or her, the bankruptcy attorney would be violating the automatic stay and may be sanctioned by the court. You can always voluntarily repay the debt if you choose to do so but your bankruptcy attorney cannot ask you to repay the debt. You need to be very wary of the attorneys who promise you that you can pay them after your bankruptcy case is filed. You need to know your rights and be sure the attorney is not violating the automatic stay.

In addition to the automatic stay, there is a conflict of interest when you only make a partial payment to your attorney prior to the filing of your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The conflict of interest arises because your attorney is now also a creditor in your bankruptcy case. The Chapter 7 trustee and U.S. trustee looks at cases where you owe money to your attorney very carefully. In many jurisdictions owing money to Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyers is prohibited and your bankruptcy attorney will not be able to collect any of the remaining balance after your case is filed. The Ninth District has ruled that "reasonable fees for post-petition services is not a dischargeable debt and may be collected in the course of the bankruptcy without violating the automatic stay." In re Sanchez, 241 F.3d 1148 (9th Cir., 2001). This means that your attorney may charge you for services that they provide you after your bankruptcy case is filed. It is a good idea to make sure the fees, whether hourly or flat rate, are listed in your contract so you know exactly what you are paying for and when you will be paying for it.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Cases

Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases are treated differently than Chapter 7 cases. Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases are repayments plans. You will pay a monthly amount as part of your Chapter 13 plan to the Chapter 13 trustee. Attorney fees here are considered an administrative expense and can be paid as part of the Chapter 13 plan. Therefore, you would be able to pay partial attorney fees to your bankruptcy attorney and have the remaining balance be paid as part of your Chapter 13 plan.

Even if your attorney does not accept payments after your bankruptcy case is filed (and most would not), you should look for an attorney that would be flexible with their payments PRIOR to filing bankruptcy. There are some attorneys that allow you to make monthly payments or are very flexible with the payment schedule. Once you finish paying their fees in full they can help you file your bankruptcy case. This is perfectly legal and is a recommended for people that are on limited income. You should consult with these attorneys and ask them if they have flexible payment plans prior to retaining their services to help you with your bankruptcy case.

Best Places to Buy Citizen Diver

If you've been considering buying a Citizen diver and aren't sure where to go and what to get, hopefully this article will help clear up some smoke and mirrors and get right to the heart of the issue! It's not hard to find a Citizen diver watch, but it is important to get a good retailer who will send you the watch quickly and give you the best quality customer support and most reliable shipping available. Here are my top places to buy a Citizen diver watch.

The first and most obvious place to go is the official Citizen watch website, Citizenwatch.com. Established in 1918, this company has maintained a powerful reputation for innovation and reliability. No one even comes close when it comes to producing high quality watches. The main website has an attractive layout and plenty of history and data regarding their amazing brand of watches that have been used by divers around the world.

Next place to buy Citizen diver watches is eBay. eBay has a good reputation when it comes to connecting buyers and sellers. The only problem with eBay is that you don't necessarily know who you are buying from. This can mean a lot of potential headaches in terms of getting your product shipped out and getting it in one piece. For this reason, I don't recommend buying from eBay, but it is still a pretty good option so long as the seller has a good reputation.

Finally, there is Amazon.com. Amazon has a ton of Citizen watches to choose from, all of which can be delivered to your house in a matter of a few days. It takes very little to get these products out and onto your porch even as quickly as the next day. What's amazing about Amazon is not only that they sell these Citizen diver watches, but also that they have an ardently defended reputation for customer service. You are sure to get your product in one piece and right on the day you expected it with Amazon.com!

So if you need to buy a Citizen diver watch, there is no place I could recommend more to do it than at Amazon.com. You not only get the Citizen brand, but you also are working with one of the most reputable companies to buy anything from in the entire world.

Military System in the Tang Dynasty

Li Yuan defeated the warlords one after another in the late Sui dynasty (581-618) and established the Tang dynasty (618-907) in 618, ushering in a new era in ancient Chinese history. The Tang Empire was very prosperous in economy, enlightened in politics and flourishing in culture and powerful in military force, boasting the most powerful empire in the world then.

Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong started military expeditions to the East Turki State and the West Turki State, annihilated Gaochang (present Xijiang Province), Koguryo and Pache, defeated Japan in the battle of Hakusukinoe, and waged war against Khitan, Mohe (an ancient nationality in northeast China) and Tiele during their reigns. In addition, the Tang Empire conflicted with the Arabic Countries and the Abbasid dynasty in Central Asia, ending up with the Tang Empire withdrawing from Central Asia owing to its domestic war (Anshi Rebellion), which was followed by large-scaled economic depression in the North. In addition to the outstanding Han-ethnic generals such as Xue Rengui, Guo Ziyi and Gao Ping, the generals from ethnic minority-groups also played an important part in the Tang dynasty, including An Lushan, Shi Siming, Heichi Changzhi, Gao Xianzhi, Li Guangbi, Li Huaiguang, Ge Shuhan, Pugu Huaien and Adie Guangjin.

With the termination of the equal-field system (the farmland system of the Tang Dynasty) and taxation system of payment in kind and labor, the voluntary military service system was carried out in the flourishing period of the Tang dynasty, and the newly-recruited soldiers couldn't resist the attack from the rebels during Anshi Rebellion, so the Tang army retreated one step after another. The Tubo (present Tibet) army once captured Chang'an (capital of Tang Empire) for 15 days in 763 and it was defeated by the Tang army led by Guo Ziyi soon, and the seesaw battles between Tubo and the Tang Empire lasted for another 100 years. The lost territory (Xizhou, Beiting and Luntai) was recaptured by the Tang army in February of 7th year (886) of Xiantong Period, and Tubo army was heavily defeated by the Tang army in October of the same year. The defeated remnants of Tubo army escaped to Qinzhou, who came under attack from Tang army led by Shang Xinyan and fled to the south of the Five Ridges (present Guangxi Province and Guangxi Province), ending up with demise. The crush of Tubo enabled the Tang Empire to be free from fear of an attack from the west.

Nanzhao (a small kingdom in South Tang Empire) invaded and captured Annan (present Vietnam) in middle Tang dynasty, and the Tang army regained Annan by defeating Nanzhao later, however, the Tang empire was greatly weakened by the peasant uprising led by Huang Chao in its late period.

Misbehavior of House Contractors

Sometimes when some people decide to build a house, they would feel less satisfied and discontent with various reasons. Such as bad design, inappropriate locations, or wrong price/quality benefit. For rich people, they should not be confused, they can determine the housing criteria (design, location, or developers, etc.) then you can simply buy. But for a group of people with limited budget certainly would be a little more picky. Many things that should be included in the selection list.

House built by several developers have a uniform type of error, don't follow professional ethics, do not use a conscience, do not have a sense of obligation and responsibilities, justifies a misguided economic principles and further take advantage of something that is not a right, etc.. Can you believe it? If you still doubt I'll show you, where lies the equation (in the case of error) from the developers. Some developers build the house with poor quality buildings, this usually happens because the developer subcontracted the project to other sub-contractors (in this case we call it: first level subcontractor), then first level subcontractor subs the project to second level sub-contractor, and so on.

Just imagine if the substitution process of building a house that happens several times, and each sub-contractor take the profit of each subs? As a result, production costs for each unit building increases, the effect of reduced production costs of such buildings is the limited budget to buy quality materials and employ skilled workers, coupled with the implementation of a hasty job to pursue progress or deadlines. The result will be bad certainly, and it is definitely disappointing. So please take care of your buildings' progress.

What Happens if You Die Without Making a Will

If you die without making a Will in the UK, the state will decide who gets what and how much, so those who you would want to benefit may get far less than you hoped.

Your estate (your property and all belongings) are frozen and become subject to the law of intestacy. You are said to have died 'intestate', meaning everything you own will be valued, tax paid at 40% if worth more than £275,000 (as at August 2005) and then shared out to your surviving spouse or relatives or given to the state if you don't have any.

The problem with this is that neither you or your family will have any say in the matter if you didn't make a Will. The beneficiaries and the share they receive will be decided by the state and the whole process can takes months or even years because you didn't take the time to make a Will.

Whilst the law and complete strangers decide how your belongings are shared, your surviving spouse or partner has all the usual household and living expenses to pay. If you are the main breadwinner they will probably be on a reduced income. Your surviving spouse or partner may not have access to money, she or he would normally have a right to if you had made a Will, because the assets could be frozen until all the formalities have been sorted out. If you have got a valid Last Will and testament it should take no longer than three months to complete the legal process and release your assets to the people who you chose.

So Who Gets What if You Die Without Making a Will?

When someone dies without making a Will or Last Will and Testament, their estate (all their property and belongings) are distributed according to the law of intestacy. This is where, in effect, the state writes your Will for you and is most likely not to meet your wishes. The following outlines the basic rules that decides who gets what:

If you are married at the time of your death

Your spouse will get everything if you left less than £125,000. If more than £125,000 is left but you leave no children, parents or siblings, then your spouse will still get everything.

If you are married with children at the time of your death

If you die leaving a spouse and children, then your spouse will get the first £125,000 and your personal effects. The remainder is divided as follows: your spouse gets a life interest in half and the other half is divided between your children. A life interest means that your spouse is entitled to the income on that half for their lifetime and on their death it will automatically pass to your children.

If you are married without children but have parents or siblings

If you die with no children, but have surviving parents or siblings, then your spouse gets the first £200,000 plus personal effects and the remainder is divided two ways. Your spouse will get half and the other half goes to your parents. If your parents have pre-deceased you, this share is divided between your siblings.

If you are not married at the time of you death

If you leave children then it will be divided equally between them. If there are no children but your parents survive you, then everything will go to your parents. If there are no children or parents, then your siblings will receive everything. If you leave no children, parents or siblings, then your grandparents will get everything. If none of these people are still alive, then it will be divided among your uncles and aunts. If there are none of the above then your estate will pass to the Crown.

Notes:

When using the term 'children' this includes illegitimate and adopted children but not step-children (unless legally adopted). Joint property generally passes to the surviving joint owner.

Why You Should Imagine What You Read

For sure when you read a book you see in your mind different images and even short movies. You can observe it while reading a story with a lively description like one from a criminal or history book. At the same time it is harder when you read scientific or technical materials. Take a look at both examples and see which images show up in your mind.

First example: Mark is rather lazy. He comes from school and uses all his force to throw his bag next to the table. Then he makes himself comfortable on the couch. You can imagine him screaming "What is for dinner?" While he chooses a favourite CD. Right after that he puts the music as loud as possible and starts to go through music magazines.

The above sentences should be enough to produce few images in your mind so think about them now. What have you seen in your mind? Images relevant to content or something completely different? Have you seen boy going inside the his room and objects with which he was interacting? Clear your mind and read next paragraph.

Taking a look at this we conclude that co-relation in a certain electrical tracks could be counted from mentioned before equation and it can arrive at 12 points. It also shows us relativity of line to angle in Cooper system.

Above text is effect of my imagination and it has nothing to do with science, but tell me - was the amount of images showing up in your mind the same as when reading first example? I bet your answer is no!

It is enough that you read a book with live description of action and it is few times easier to remember. The only thing you need to do is make sure that your imaginations sticks to the subject. If your thoughts will bring you away you may loose concentration. Keep creating images that are related to what you read and later it will be much easier to recall.

Even if your eyes go line after line, your mind see different things so track what you read and make sure that in the same time your brain is producing best possible images to remember it. Keeping your eyes and vision of your mind working together will improve your comprehension.

Massage - How and Where to Touch Guide for Guys

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The Secrets to Success For Arizona Home Buyers

There are several steps to take when purchasing a home in Arizona. This check list, coming from an Executive Sales Associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Arizona, will help any person thinking about buying a home in the valley of the sun.

Your first step when purchasing a home in Arizona is to make sure to find a Real Estate Professional that is aggressive, knowledgeable, and educated. There is no requirements necessary when talking about education to become a Realtor. Anyone can become a Realtor as long as very basic guidelines are met. Would you rather have a high school drop out represent you, or a Realtor with a college degree? Ask your Realtor how much experience they have, ask to see diplomas, or even go as far as asking for letters of recommendation so that you can have physical proof that you are putting the biggest investment of your life into the right hands.

After you have chosen and trust your Realtor, your next step is to get pre-qualified for a loan. This is a very simple process. A lender of your choice or a lender that your Realtor recommends will ask you a series of questions which only takes about 10 minutes to make sure you are qualified to purchase a home. Lenders want to know your job history, your credit score, your income, and how much debt you have. As long as you have a good work history, a descent income, and your debt to income ratio's are in good standing, you should have no problem qualifying for a home loan. If you already know a lender that you want to use Realtors are not encouraged to try and steer you away from the lender you know and trust.

It would be a good idea to make sure you are getting the best deal possible. To get the very best deal possible you must talk to more than one loan officer. Loan officers make more money if they give you a higher interest rate because the bank that is funding the loan will pay the loan officer more money. The higher the interest rate, the more money that bank makes, and the more money the loan officer makes. Many loan officers are willing to make less money by giving you a better interest rate. Some lenders will even make no money on the back end of the loan and only charge a one time up front fee which is usually one percent of the loan. Try to get a lender that will not charge you on the back end of the loan because it will cost you thousands of dollars more over a period of time.

Once you have chosen a Realtor that you trust, and have a lender you can trust, you next step is to find your home. Many different factors play into what type of home a person will choose. For many families, school districts are important. For others, location or type of home. Real Estate agents are not allowed to tell you what areas they think you should live in. You have to tell them what area you want to live in, or what school district, or what city, and they will help you find a home from this point forward. Tell your Realtor what is important to you such as a fireplace, a pool, an all tile roof, what year the home was built, how many bedrooms, bathrooms, or anything else that may be of importance to you.

After you have told your Realtor what you want, your Realtor will show you what is available in the areas you requested. At that point everyone hops in the car and goes to look at the homes you want to see. It is usually best to look at home on Saturday and Sunday because the traffic is light, and it makes it less hectic for the home owner.

Now, you have found the house you want to purchase after looking at thirty homes. You love this house and don't want to lose it. Depending on the market conditions will determine the aggressiveness of the contract. When writing a purchase contract for a home, it is important to know how many days the home has been on the market, how much the owner of the home is going to make on the sale, and how long the owner has lived in the home. If the home has been on the market for two years, it would probably be a good idea to offer a very low price. If the home has been on the market for one day, and there were 20 people in line to see the home the day it came on the market, you may want to consider offering over list price. The sticker price is rarely the purchase price.

Depending on the home buyers financial position will determine the terms of the contract. Right now in Arizona as of 2/27/2007, it is extremely common for people to get into homes with zero down because the seller will usually pay for all of the buyers closing costs. In the purchase contract just ask the seller to pay for all of the buyers closing costs. Depending on the price of the home and the type of loan the buyer is acquiring will determine the buyers closing costs. After the buyer and seller have agreed on all terms, price, and conditions we open escrow with the title company of your choice. If you do not know of any title companies your Realtor will probably suggest one. It is now time to move into the due diligence period.

Due diligence is a fancy work for an inspection period. It is very important to get an inspection done on the home so you know what is wrong with the house. Every single house usually has a list of very minor problems. Every once in a while you will run into a major problem that will affect your decision to buy the home. You may back out of the contract at any time if you find a major problem with the home during the inspection period. After the inspection period is over, it is harder to get out of the contract. Once the seller and buyer have agreed on the terms regarding what is to be fixed and what will not be fixed, it would be a good time to start thinking about home owners insurance.

Just like finding a good lender, you want to find a good home owners insurance agent. You want to talk with several, not just one, for the same reason you want to shop a lenders rates. Talk with several insurance agents to make sure you are getting the best rate with the best coverage. Cheaper does not always mean better, however, you may be able to get the same exact coverage for cheaper if you find out what is available. If you don't know many insurance agents, your Realtor should be able to recommend a few.

Now you have a good Realtor, a good lender, a good title company, a good home inspector / termite inspector, and a good insurance agent at this point. All you really have to do at this point is to make sure you get everything your lender needs to process your loan such as bank statements, tax records and pay stubs. Depending on the type of loan you are getting will determine the type of paperwork the lender will need from you, it seems to be always different for each buyer.

At the end of the buying process, the lender will deliver the funds to the title company, the buyer and seller need to sign all documents, and all the monies are dispersed to the appropriate parties from the lenders funds.

It is now time to move into your new home. Once the title company records the deed in your name, you can move in right away. Many people move into their home using a truck and their families help, and others hire help.

Investing in Apartment Buildings - Top 3 Places to Get Your Down Payment Money

In this article, I want to share with you my top 3 places to get the down payment money you need to buy an apartment building. Many people have built great wealth for themselves by investing in apartment buildings.

Apartment buildings are one of the best investment vehicles you can use to grow your wealth - for several reasons:

1) Cash Flow This is always at the top of my list, and multifamily properties purchased correctly can provide a stable, predictable source of income. This is especially true in a down economy because more people move toward renting than buying.

2) Leverage The beauty of investing in apartment buildings is you can leverage your investment vs. other investment options. You put down, say 20%, and your banker puts up the rest of the money. Even though you are only putting down 20%, YOU get 100% of the property appreciation. Try doing that with stocks or bonds!

3) Control When you invest in a stock, for example, who is in control of that investment? The CEO, The Executives, and the Board of Directors. If you want to increase the value of your stock, what can you do? And of course, the answer is nothing, really. But with real estate, you are in direct control. You can increase the rents, reduce expenses, paint the building, landscape - the list goes on and on. You can do literally hundreds of things to increase the value of your investment, placing you in direct control of your returns.

If you are reading this, you are probably thinking that investing in apartment buildings is a great idea - for many reasons even other that I have listed above.

One of the things that holds many would-be investors back is getting the down payment needed to purchase an apartment property. I hesitate to share just a few of these because there are numerous ways to get the down payment money you need. That being said, here are the top 3 places to get your down payment money:

1) The Current Property Owner This is especially true today, as lender requirements have tightened significantly since the financial markets have collapsed. Lenders are much slower, and require more information than previously. Let's face it, they are very conservative in lending out their money vs. 5-10 years ago.

Because of this, it is easier today more than ever to ask the current property owner to either:

A) Carry-Back a Note For Some or All of Your Down Payment or B) Finance the Entire Project

Many owners that are motivated to sell will look at these options especially now, and create a win-win for both of you. Don't be afraid to ask this when making offers.

2) Other Investors and/or Partners "Find the property first, and you will find the money."

If you have a great investment opportunity available, simply ask other investors to either invest with you, or become partners on the project. The other option is to ask other investors to loan you the down payment money needed. There are many different ways to structure this, which makes things flexible for both you and your potential investment partners.

3) Your Own Home Equity Some investors are hesitant to tap into their home equity to purchase an investment property, and I understand that. But if you have a great project, your home equity can be a relatively easy source of money to get your down payment. There are many ways to look at this, and it is just that - one of many options available.

These are truly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding money for a down payment. There are numerous, numerous others that I cannot cover here, but these should help get your ideas flowing. Remember, if you find a great project first, you will have a much easier time of finding the money for a down payment.