I have written previously about my favorite Fall Bankruptcy Payment Plan. The link to that blog is here and the link to the section of my website where I also discuss this is here. Now, I am discussing it again, but this time I am throwing in a free tax return for people who take advantage of it.
Basically, it is common for people to come in during the Fall or even the early Winter and make an initial payment of $200.00 and pay the remainder of their bankruptcy fee with their tax refund. We make the Creditor phone calls stop throughout this period, including the holiday season and file when the tax refund arrives. This payment plan kills two birds with one stone. First, it takes care of the bankruptcy fee in the most painless way possible. Second, it helps to solve the “tax refund problem”. In bankruptcy, the world is upside-down. What is good is bad, and what is bad is good. In bankruptcy, a big tax refund coming your way is bad, because it is an asset for the Trustee to take. If part of your refund is spent on your bankruptcy attorney, this expenditure is easily understood by the Trustee.
This is a good way to handle the issue of payment plans and taxes. In addition to being a bankruptcy lawyer, I am also a tax preparer. So, anyone who comes in by February 1, 2015 (Yes, we are open Sundays during the tax season) and pays the initial $200.00 retainer will get a free individual tax return, by which I mean the basic 1040 plus, if needed, Schedule A, Schedule B and even the Schedule E for an owner occupied two family house. If there is a business or other investment property, I will give a 50% discount instead. As a lawyer, it is hard for me to have a “sale”. To go ‘this week only, all bankruptcies 25% off’ has a tacky quality to it. By doing the taxes myself, I ensure that the taxes are done quickly and correctly. In this way, the refund issues promptly. It works out that I am both helping my clients afford to get their taxes filed quickly and helping to expedite the processing of the bankruptcy, which helps me. This is a win-win situation and thus avoids being tacky.