All Forum Posts by: Paul Choate

Last month was our biggest group yet. We had about 16 people. Thanks everyone who came!

This is a networking event. We are having lunch and sharing our current projects, successes and struggles. There is no speaker or expectation of participation on anyone's part. Please come and listen or ask questions. We have very good discussions about the local market and activities of the local investing community.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Please let me know if you are coming so I can have a rough head count. Please come anyway if your schedule opens up and you did not tell me!

Cool story (at least for me)- at the end of last month's meeting, someone, (I think it was @Rhett Tullis ) asked me about a property listed here on BP. I had sent a pm to the seller about it and then forgot to follow up. I guess I had mentioned it in a previous meeting or they also saw it on BP.  After the meet up (and reminder), I called again on it. I just signed a purchase contract on it today. 

Thanks group! I can't tell you how much this group inspires and motivates me. Everyone I know personally is looking at me like I am crazy. This group allows me to get realistic feedback and is operating where I want to be. 

We are meeting on the fourth Tuesday of every month so put it on your calendars.

Keywords- Oklahoma City, Norman, Midwest City, Yukon, Edmond, Mustang

http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/15a0662n-06.pdf

@Logan Hicks this is a recently decided case where a landlord sent a letter to the debtor's attorney threatening criminal prosecution and was hit with a punitive judgment of $7500 because of his attitude. 

In my opinion, Everything you mentioned is a violation of the stay. It does not matter if it is a day or ten years after the filing of the case. As a debtors attorney, I would pursue a stay violation claim.  

Bankruptcy is not something to play around with. It protects the debtor by design.

This is a networking event. We are having lunch and sharing our current projects, successes and struggles. There is no speaker or expectation of participation on anyone's part. Please come and listen or ask questions. We have very good discussions about the local market and activities of the local investing community.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Please let me know if you are coming so I can have a rough head count. Please come anyway if your schedule opens up and you did not tell me!

We are meeting on the fourth Tuesday of every month so put it on your calendars.

Keywords- Oklahoma City, Norman, Midwest City, Yukon, Edmond, Mustang

Paul Choate, Telephone: 405-426-9677

The general rule is assets are broadly defined and the law wants to bring in as much as possible into the bankruptcy estate for distribution to creditors. You are going to have a very difficult time protecting assets in a bankruptcy beyond the allowed homestead exemptions in your jurisdiction. 

Bankruptcy is designed to get as much as possible from you for your creditors without leaving you completely destitute.

If this is a concern for you, you should contact an estate planning attorney and see what your state allows for exemptions and what options you have for creating legal entities to hold your assets. There are long look-back periods for property transferred before filing bankruptcy so you should start it asap. BTW- anyone contemplating filing a bankruptcy should not do any transfers until they talk to their lawyer.

What's the address?

It shouldn't be discharged in a bankruptcy but you need to do your best to advance the criminal and civil complaints. The key word is fraud. Most likely you will never collect on the guy but he should be stuck with it. Talk to an attorney ASAP. 

Detailed accounting, legal and experience posts. I learned a lot about claiming full time investor status from a post last week. It quoted an actual IRS case recently decided. Loved it. More of that please.

@Gonz Trevino

There is an oft raging debate on BP about the effectiveness of legal entities for asset protection. I personally use them and believe they are the second line of defense behind doing a good job. However, since i personally manage my properties, I potentially face exposure as the operator as well as the owner. I am not trying to reopen that discussion on this thread. Just know that there are many around here who think LLCs and S-Corps are pierced on a regular basis. I am not one of them. 

@Account Closed

Yes. I am using the term "judgment proof" to indicate someone who would be difficult to collect on. In my circles it is a term of art as you can take specific actions (I.e. Judgment, garnishment, attaching property etc.) but the practical effect is the same. You aren't getting any money from them. 

@JR T.

It is a fine line! I always tell my wife, I love collector calls. Nothing else will get them moving sometimes. 

I only have the one policy. I am not sure what E&O would cover for an attorney as everything we do wrong falls under those two categories. I think. Once again, I feel like it is a shell game where whatever I need would be the one thing not covered. I have some associations with national groups and the policy I have is all they require.

As a side note, Bankruptcy is one of the lowest practice areas by number of bar complaints, so I feel pretty good there too.