Rick Raw: Bankruptcy-- DEFCON 1 Event

By Rick Grant www.rickgrant01@comcast.net www.rickatnight.com

Filing bankruptcy is a DEFCON 1 event in anyone’s life journey. Indeed, it is a last resort that can happen to anybody. Due to a string of unfortunate events out of my control, I was forced to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Suddenly, I was Humpty-Dumpty. Last March, I lost my salaried position that I had held for 24 years. Suddenly, my income dropped like the stock market hearing gloomy economic news from the Chairman of Fed. "Mayday, I’m going down!" I cried out.
My financial situation rapidly degenerated. Bills piled up, especially my IRS debt, which had escalated due to the IRS’ usurious interest and penalties rising exponentially. I was forced to retire. I really had no other practical choice but to declare bankruptcy or face an endless succession of annoying lawsuits.

Two years ago, the hypocritical, bathroom-stall-shuffling Republicans pushed through a revised bankruptcy law that made it much tougher to file Chapter 7. This was a concession to the banking lobby that’s swimming in red ink from credit card defaults. Under the new law, the requirements are much more stringent.

Now, Chapter 7 clients have to be practically destitute to qualify. My case definitely cried out for bankruptcy relief. "Help me Whamba!" So, I hired a lawyer and spent a month gathering together copious amounts of documentation and paperwork. Just when I thought I had turned over everything to my lawyer’s assistant, she wanted more. Finally, my wife and I met with the assistant to sign the paperwork, which was as thick as a phone book.

During the month of hellish document gathering, I never saw my attorney, which he warned me about."You will never see me until you go to court," he said. The whole process is done by underlings entering data into special bankruptcy software. It’s strictly a burdensome bureaucratic procedure. As one can imagine, in today’s economy, bankruptcies and foreclosures are a growth industry for lawyers.

When I signed the paperwork, the assistant filed with the court by a click of the mouse. For this paperwork shuffling, I paid a hefty amount of dinero, which is ironic. I’m bankrupt because I’m broke, but I had to come up with a large sum to go bankrupt, which fortunately I had in my saving account.

Then a strange thing happened, our lawyer’s assistant suddenly got on my case and caught me off guard. After all, she is supposed to be our advocate. In a strident voice, she asked my wife and I some odd questions that came from left field.

"How much is your jewelry you are wearing and your watches worth. And, Mrs. Grant’s necklaces and that wedding ring--and that other ruby ring worth?" she inquired. "And how much cash do you have on hand and your bank account?" she went on to say. She said it in a mocking and accusatory tone like she was trying to humiliate us. Both my wife and I were flabbergasted.

I explained to her that my watch was a Timex that new sold for $25.00. My wife said her necklaces and rings were not worth much. And the faux ruby ring was a gift from her daughter. I had $14 bucks in my wallet and $69 in the bank And, I had $4.00 in my ETrade account, thanks to my lawyer taking it all. Her comments were completely inappropriate and degrading. It was as if she was taunting us. She said her reason for asking us these questions was the trustee would want this money to distribute to the creditors. But, that didn’t make any sense. I believe she was busting our ass trying to make us feel bad for having to go bankrupt. What a bitch! And, she’s our advocate? I’d hate to meet our enemies.

This is another case of nasty bitches that work in offices who hate their jobs and take it out on clients or patients. And, I know it’s not just me. Other people (men and women) have told me their office bitch horror stories. What’s wrong with these women? I dare not say, but what ever it is, it’s epidemic in offices across the land. My advice: Take a pill or find happiness but be civil or quit dealing with the public.