The majority of what our firm does is bankruptcy related. We advise individuals, farmers, and small businesses on their debt relief options and often recommend bankruptcy filings. We file a lot of bankruptcies for Kansas and Missouri residents in and around metro Kansas City. We pride ourselves on our reputation as a firm of bankruptcy excellence.
But we don’t limit ourselves to Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Especially in these trying times, we have options to help our clients that don’t strictly involve bankruptcies. In addition to Chapter 7 and 13, we also provide small businesses with Chapter 11 and farmers/fishermen with Chapter 12. In addition, W M Law is able to help with a variety of other issues, some listed below:
* come to terms on a workout with a primary secured lender for a business
* renegotiating a commercial lease
* represent a non-profit in conjunction with membership disputes
* handle small estate and probate matters – work that goes beyond our traditional estate planning work drafting wills and other documents
* resolve a land dispute through a quiet title action and resulting negotiations
In order to perform this work properly, we need to ensure we have the following traits:
* attention to detail – Reviewing loans and security interests, mortgages and deeds of trust, bankruptcy schedules, and workout documents to ensure accuracy and a benefit for our clients
* an interest in doing the work – Taking the time to draft documents, make an extra phone call to a creditor, or give a reassuring e-mail to our clients that we understand and are advocating for them
* creativity – The ability to approach problems in a different way or offer solutions beyond what most professionals would think to suggest
* honesty – We need to be trusted, not only by our clients, but by the parties against whom we’re negotiating. We are not going to obtain any results for our clients if we don’t have a reputation of being straight shooters
* reason – The most pointless negotiation is one in which the opposing side asks for everything they could potentially obtain, with no concessions to offer. The point of a negotiation is to reach a point where both sides can walk away with something. If you ever see a “settlement proposal” in which one side gets 100% and another side gets 0%, either the client or the drafter of the proposal is being unreasonable
We often do this work on an hourly rate agreement after agreeing on a rough estimate of the costs and a timetable of the work to be done. That timetable and budget should be updated as more work is done and the timeline becomes more defined.
We all begin at a starting point. For us, the question usually boils down to: Are you in financial distress or anticipating financial distress? If the answer is yes, give us a call to discuss your situation. You might be surprised by what we can accomplish.
