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What Happens After You File Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

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Regardless of their informed decisions and hard work, business professionals could fail due to various internal and external factors. In this case, bankruptcy could only be the only viable option when the business is dealing with debt they can’t handle. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy could be an effective way out if businesses have financial difficulty. It can be depressing when you are being harassed non-stop by multiple creditors. There could also be threatening letter from the collection agency and their lawyers. When things are bad enough, local court could sue you and they will garnish your paycheck. Your vehicles can be repossessed, your home foreclosed and your utilities shut off. If you want to prevent being left with almost nothing, then seeking bankruptcy protection could be a good legal decision.

After you file for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case, a court order is automatically issued. It means that it’s illegal for creditors to try to contact you. This should give you some breathing room and you can get a sense of relief. You can focus more on basic needs like food, children education and various essential obligations. However, some financial obligations like student loans and income taxes may not go away from filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The case should stay open for 4 months and the Bankruptcy judge will discharge your debts, as long as they are dischargeable.  To fully improve your chance, you should review bankruptcy papers carefully.

You are the one who knows about your own legal situation, so you need to use this to your advantage. Give proof about your involvement with creditors. Get latest copies of reports from credit reporting agencies. In the United States, these agencies are Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Lawyer, court and trustee will ask to get information from you, as soon as you file the case. As an example, you may be asked to submit latest bank statements, profit and loss statements, income evidences and others documents that may be relevant to your case, such as valuation of your assets. You may also provide other details such as tax refunds, life insurance, retirement plans, vehicle value and personal belongings value. Approximately one month after the case is filed, there will be the “meetings of creditors”.

This is the time when you need to answer trustees about your case. These meetings usually take place before outside the courtroom. In fact, people who file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy never go inside the courtroom at all. Meetings of creditors usually quite brief and it may last for about 15 to 30 minutes. However, subsequent meetings may be needed if your case is complicated with many assets and financial obligation involved. People who have no attorney and represent themselves can be at severe disadvantage. Because they don’t know what they are doing, there could be a few things that are poorly prepared and more meetings could be needed. Bankruptcy attorneys could also help clients to obtain exemptions, so they can retain personal and real estate properties.

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Five Ways to Control Legal Costs

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Many people are reluctant to hire an attorney, because it’s a potentially expensive thing. In fact, businesses and individual professional should set aside enough budgets for legal expenses. Even if it’s true that legal costs can be expensive, you can still prevent it from spiralling out of control.

  1. Stick with an attorney: One good way to reduce legal costs is by having long-term relationships with an attorney. You should already have good relationship with an attorney before you even have a legal problem. In fact, an attorney can provide legal consultation to reduce legal risks and avoid problems. There are many legal pitfalls that cost you money. It is especially true if you are establishing a business partnership or working on a big contract. Business attorneys should be knowledgeable in this area and they can detect potential problems.
  2. Work with the right attorney: It’s a good thing to work for long-term with an attorney, but it would be useless if the attorney isn’t the best for your situation. The cost efficient path is to hire people with specific expertise. In fact, there are legal firms that are specialized in specific areas of laws, like medical or business. As an example, copyright cases can be quite challenging to deal with, because there are many details that you should understand. One good indication of legal professionals is that they are willing to spend a few days to research your case. It means that these professionals can come up with the best possible solutions.
  3. Negotiate fees: Clients and lawyers should negotiate the best fee structure for them. It could be more flexible than typical hourly billing. Explore available options with the attorney to come up with the best possible fee structure. Hourly billing can be a good thing for some people, but probably not for you. As an example, both you may agree on fixed fee upon the completion of the case. When you choose this approach, the attorney will examine the scope of the project to determine the most appropriate flat fee for their efforts. With fixed fees, you can prepare your budget in advance.
  4. Review bills: Regardless of the billing structure, you should carefully review your bills, both for hourly billing and fixed fees arrangement. Check bills and clarify any questionable detail. Check whether the bill reflects previously agreed terms during the negotiation process. Consider the performance of the firm and make sure that it matches with the bill.
  5. Communicate well: You need to constantly communicate with your attorney. As an example, any goal should be clearly identified and make sure that the attorney understand your preferences and goals. If goals are clearly stated, you can have regular meetings to determine current progress. You can stay in contact with the attorney through regular meetings, emails, phone calls and instant messaging. Always keep yourself updated on the activities of the attorneys, so you can be sure that your money is being spent wisely.

Working With the Best Lawyer Available for You

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Almost everything in our lives is affected by regulations, rules and law. Modern laws are so complex and thorough that it may take hundreds of years for an average person to read all of them. It means we would need professional helps if legal situations arise. As an ordinary person, there’s a good chance that we can’t handle our own legal issues. Unfortunately, it can feel intimidating for many of us to call and talk with lawyers. To ease this task, you need to do your homework. When you are facing a serious legal problem, it is important that you make an informed decision every time.  You are legally allowed to represent yourself in the court, but most of the time, it’s comparable to a legal suicide, if the opposing party is backed up by professional legal professionals.

To increase your odds, it’s a good idea to contact and consult your lawyers when you face a problem. Many states and countries have deadlines for filing a lawsuit due to liabilities or personal problems. It’s called statute of limitations and designed to encourage people to present their cases promptly. However, regardless of the deadlines, it doesn’t mean that you should choose the very first lawyer you meet. The problem is to choose the best lawyer based on your current condition. Choosing lawyers is mostly a personal matter. You need honest and open communication that’s based on trust. There should be mutual commitment by both the lawyer and the client. Most of the time, lawyers know how to communicate with clients to get the job done. So, if there’s problem in communication, you need to check whether the problem is at your side.

Lawyers know how to communicate properly, most of the time. On the other hand, clients may not cooperate fully. If you don’t disclose essential information, lawyers won’t be able to provide their best service. You can communicate lawyers through phone calls, instant messaging, email or direct conversation. Without proper communication, you will get nothing but frustration. Naturally, you need to make sure that you feel completely comfortable talking with your lawyer. If you are feeling doubtful, it may be a good idea for you to keep looking.  Your legal case is far too important to be entrusted to those who don’t inspire your complete confidence.

Another thing to consider is that fields of law are diverse and extensive. No lawyer is knowledgeable in every field of law. As an example, one lawyer could specialize on traffic-related cases, while another focus on medical liability. You should ask proper and enough questions to lawyers. This way, you will know whether the lawyer is ready and responsive enough to work with you. One basic question is about the experience of the lawyer in handling cases related to specific area of law. Also, ask whether the lawyer who handle your case or whether the associate do it for you. It’s a good thing if you can get references from previous clients. In fact, word of mouth is the best form of advertising, because it could happen only if the lawyer is reliable.

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Reasons That Your Car Isn’t Fuel Efficient

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When choosing a car, you should make sure that it is completely efficient. You will use your car on the day to day basis, so you need to make sure that the overall consumption of fuel is reasonably lower. This could result in significant annual saving, which you can use to better maintain your car. Unfortunately, there are things that cause your car to burn more fuel than necessary. One thing that you need to consider is that you may have poor driving habit. It is a common fact that the speed of your car has direct correlation to the fuel consumption. In general, a car starts to lose fuel efficiency once it goes higher than 55 mph. If you drive faster, you will burn more fuel. As an example, if you drive 75mph consistently, you may burn 20 percent more fuel.

Depending on the price of gasoline in your areas, you may spend up to $10 extra each hour. So, it is important to drive prudently and during long distance trips, you should keep your speed between 50 and 55 mph. At this speed, it is also easier for you to control the car and the chance of an accident will be much lower. Another poor driving habit that may burn more fuel is if you do rapid acceleration or braking too often. Hitting the accelerator hard could burn more fuel. You should also brake the car more calmly. Slamming on brakes until the last minutes will cause you to burn more fuel. You need to predict what will happen in front of you. If you see potential obstructions in front of you, you should start to slowly brake your car.

Another factor that determines fuel efficiency is your tires. You should make sure that tires are inflated properly. If your tires are under inflated, the friction will be higher. It will take more energy to rotate the wheel and keep the wheels going at certain speed. You will need to step on the accelerator deeper. This will cause the engine to work harder and consume more fuel. Due to the increased friction, the lifetime of the wheel will be reduced as well. The next problem is that you don’t use the right gears for specific speed. This is particularly true if your car has manual transmission. Using too low gear could cause to engine to work harder to reach the desired speed. If possible, you should maintain your speed longer, so you don’t need to change gear too often.

If possible, you shouldn’t turn on the air conditioning. It takes more energy to operate the air conditioning unit and keeps the cabin of your car cool. It is debatable that whether driving with windows down is more efficiency, because the overall drag becomes higher and your car is no longer aerodynamic. If the temperature outside is cool, you don’t have to turn on the air conditioning and open the window just a little bit to let some air in.

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Things You Should Know About Car Detailing

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In general, car detailing is about cleaning, polishing and protecting the surface of the car meticulously. When you perform a car detailing task, you need to do it properly, from inside our and from top to bottom. In some cases, car detailing involves body and paintwork repairs. Light cosmetic restorative tasks will need to be included. Before you perform car detailing, it is important to evaluate the overall condition of the car. Your primary goal is to fully restore and enhance the condition of the car. You need to perform the right methods, because wrong procedure could cause various problems, such as swirl marks or even light scratches that could permanently damage the surface of the car. The washing method should be able to remove as much dirt and contaminant as possible.

During a car detailing procedure, you will need to completely soak and foam the car. This will help you loosen the dirt and you can lift if more easily. Car detailing brush should have soft bristles, which can remove grit without causing any damage on the car surface. Make sure that the brush works well on the badges, trim details, plastic grills and window rubbers. You will need brush with rougher bristles to clean areas like wheels, wheel wells, lug nuts, brake callipers and suspension components. Finally, you need to spray the water from top down, so all the dust will be removed completely. Instead of using chamois, you should consider using micro fiber towels that would work better on the car surface. Depending on the condition and the size of your car, it may take up to two hours to just wash the car.

After you complete the washing task, you need to remove any contaminant that is bonded on the surface with special clay lubricant and bar. This is important, because normal washing process alone can’t remove these stubborn substances. Accumulated contaminants could cause problem with end results and your polishing goals won’t be reached. Contaminants could cause oxidation, hazing, swirl marks, light scratches and various surface imperfections. You may need to invest on rotary polishing machine to get better results. The overall polishing process is considered a multi task procedure with different grades of polish. It may take hours to complete the task. If the size of the car is quite large, you may need to spend more time when polishing the car.

After the car is completely polished, you should find any imperfection on the car surface. Make sure that the car surface is completely sealed and protected. You may need to choose pre-wax product to make sure that the wax will bond strongly with the surface of the car. If you want to get long lasting protection, you will need to use synthetic sealants and paste waxes, which is based on natural carnauba. If you want to get optimum durability, you may need to apply multiple layers of sealant and wax. High quality carnauba paste may cost you a few thousand dollars, which is a good investment if you have a luxury car.

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How to Perform Scratch-Free Car Washing Procedure?

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If you want to maintain your car, it is important for you to know how to properly wash your car. You need to do it in the right order and the most correct manner. If you wash your car poorly, it is possible that you will damage your car. It will be quite costly if you need to repaint the car, due to improper washing method. As an example, using harsh chemicals may cause problems with the car paint. When washing your car, you should have excellent attention to detail. You shouldn’t miss things and it is actually quite easy for you to overlook things. You should review your current car washing procedure, to ensure that you are doing things correctly. You may add a number of details in the car washing procedure to improve efficiency and the overall results.

Check whether you are using the right equipment and products for washing your car. As an example, pressure washers should work properly and you need to have enough water pressure to speed up the washing process. You will need a couple of buckets. One is used to rinse the car and remove the grit. Another bucket is used for water filled with shampoo. There are many things that you can use to improve the result of your car washing procedure. It is also important to choose the best location for the car washing task. Make sure that the area isn’t too dusty. If there’s no other place available and everything is dusty, you may need to spray enough water to the surrounding area, so you can keep the dust down. If the sunlight is intense, it is better if you can find a shaded area, but still with good air circulation.

When cleaning your car, you should start with wheel wells and the wheels themselves. You can get better results if focus on the dirtiest part of the car. Often, this will take most time to complete. In many cases, you will need to use heavy duty products to remove greasy substances. It could take more time to clean up the wheel and you may need to use separate buckets to keep everything completely clean. If the water is already contaminated with grit and dirt, you can cause damage on the rest of the car surface. You should choose the right foam product that can remove contaminants and dirt easily. Read reviews from users to make sure that these products are actually working. In many cases, you will need to soak the wheels and lower parts of your car, so the dirt and grit can come loose more easily.

When removing dirt and grit, you should do this very carefully, because you can potentially scratch the surface of the car, if you are being too rough with the sponge. Your goal is to remove grits with very short wipes, so you won’t scratch the nearby surfaces. By being extra careful, you won’t cause unsightly blemishes on the surface of the car.

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