Bankruptcy Article of the Week
Updating Proposed Bankruptcy Code Amendments in Face of the Current Foreclosure Crisis
Nearly a month ago, Start Fresh Today detailed in Issue 5 of "The Next Chapter" how Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) had promised to introduce legislation to amend the bankruptcy code as a means to help families in foreclosure in the midst of the subprime collapse, and here's the latest updates on the "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act".
While still in the draft stages and facing the possibility of being changed before introduced, Durbin's legislation will apparently amend the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to protect consumers staring down mortgage foreclosure and also provide more options to those consumers interested in seeking bankruptcy protection.
Early details of Durbin's legislation reportedly include information of provisions that would:
- Ensure a minimum $75,000 exemption for any equity that debtors aged 55 or older may have in their homes and thus provide them with more protection;
- Make forfeiture of a mortgage both as a personal obligation and as a lien on real property if a mortgage holder fails to comply with certain federal or state laws;
- Allow the restructuring of home loans in Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans by removing a current provision preventing such an action;
- Allow some debtors to redeem by refinancing at liquidation value by adding the debtor's principal residence to the § 722 redemption provision;
- Waive the credit counseling requirement upon debtor education certification while a foreclosure action is in progress; and
- Make arbitration agreements in civil proceedings under the Bankruptcy Code or in connection with a bankruptcy case unenforceable.
Upon a first look at the alleged details in this legislation, it appears that Durbin has incorporated at least some of the suggestions made during an April bankruptcy law reform proposal by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA), the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) and the Center of Responsible Lending.
While Durbin's legislation is still in its infancy, perhaps it will eventually grow and become the one benefit from the subprime mortgage crisis by ultimately providing a long overdue change to the provision excluding a debtor's primary residence from modification in the bankruptcy courts and arming homeowners in bankruptcy with much-needed options.
Meet the Start Fresh Today Team
If you have ever called in to Start Fresh Today with a particular question, chances are that Beth Bond had the answer for you.
Beth's position as an SFT Support Representative entails various duties, including responding to the needs of attorneys and consumers, providing information to debtors to ensure course completion, and addressing problems that debtors may experience during the online process.
"Knowing that the issues our consumers are dealing with are very emotional and time- sensitive, I try to assure that the experience they have with StartFreshToday is as stress-free, informative and helpful as possible," Bond said.
In addition to seeing all types of questions from attorneys and consumers during her year working at SFT, Beth has seen her fair share of the world. A self-described "Army brat", Beth was born in Washington State and has lived in Minnesota, Washington, D.C., New York, Northern Virginia, Germany and Los Angeles, where she was a back-up vocalist for various recording artists.
In terms of now living in Chicago, Beth said that she enjoys the "positive energy and balance of its Midwestern city life" and added that she loves the people she gets to spend her days with and work beside at SFT.
The Numbers Game
Approximately 98.5% of our clients said that the goals of our credit counseling and debtor education courses were clearly explained and understandable to them.
The Value of Start Fresh Today
Here's how one attorney described the efficiency of working with SFT:
"I signed up with StartFreshToday.com after I took their online tutorial that explains the way the website works. The research tools that they provide are something I had to obtain from three different companies in the past. Now, by clicking a few buttons, I have everything I need for the case.
- Clif Gooding
Oklahoma City, OK
Got any feedback about SFT products or tips for improving the newsletter? Shoot your suggestions to info@startfreshtoday.com. We appreciate your input.
Kevin's Corner
Practice Management Tip of the Week:
"Knowing just a little bit about your prospective client up front can help create a strong first impression.
"If you have a secretary or paralegal doing preliminary intake, or if you're receiving contact information from a marketing effort like Total Bankruptcy that gathers basic information and forwards it to you, take the time to quickly review that information before you pick up the phone.
"In most cases, if that information is well-presented, it will take you only a few seconds to scan the data and find out what's important to your prospective client.
"That small time investment will pay off in new business, because your prospect will feel personally attended to and not as if you're giving her a canned speech.
"That knowledge will also allow you to catch the caller's attention right away by beginning with what's on her mind.
"'I understand you're concerned about losing your house?' introduces the conversation your future client wants to have, while general introductory information is easily tuned out.
"Simultaneously letting the caller know that you've already invested something in learning about her concerns and that you're prepared to tackle those concerns head-on creates a strong foundation and sets you apart in a prospective client's mind."
- Kevin Chern
President, Start Fresh Today
Did You Know...
that you can pull reports in your SFT Attorney Account to determine the status of the Credit Counseling and Debtor Education courses you've assigned to all clients?
That's right! Simply begin by visiting StartFreshToday.com and logging in to your account.
From here, click on the 'Resources' button and scroll down to the 'Reports' heading. You will then see three client reports in this area, including:
- Debtor Education Status — which gives you the choice to search for all clients whose status is Completed & Ordered, Started (but Incomplete) & Ordered, Not Started, or Not Ordered;
- Credit Counseling Status — which gives you the choice to search for all clients with similar status updates as the ones listed above;
- Have Not Started Credit Counseling Briefing — which gives you a list of all clients who have not started the Credit Counseling course and also allows you to send them a reminder.
Got questions? Simply call (800) 435-9138 or feel free to take the time to send us an email to info@startfreshtoday.com. We're more than glad to help out in any way possible.
Getting Low on Client Inserts?
If so, simply call (800) 435-9138 or shoot us an email requesting more client inserts to info@startfreshtoday.com, and we'll send them out to you free of charge as soon as possible.
All we ask is that you include your new credit counseling and debtor education inserts in your client intake folders. Thanks again for your cooperation.