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Bankruptcy is as popular now as bell bottom Angel Flight pants were in the 1970's. Since the '70's, however, the bankruptcy laws have changed significantly. Because of some Congressional tinkering with the bankruptcy statutes in 2005, most people don't know much about how the new system works. When considering a bankruptcy, here are some important factors to keep in mind:

Top 10 Bankruptcy Secrets

#1 Not All Attorneys Are Qualified to Advise You as to Bankruptcy -- the Most Popular Ones May be the Worst

In most larger cities, there are several attorneys who advertise on television and radio who say they do the most bankruptcies and who say they can "help you." In truth, most of these TV attorneys just want to help themselves. The old adage of "buyer beware" applies here.

The most popular bankruptcy attorney may be the worst. In Las Vegas, Nevada, one TV Attorney was nearly banned by the bankruptcy court because his practice was so inferior that the courts were tired of his clients being victimized. Other attorneys have been reprimanded or criticized by other professionals because their clients have had very bad outcomes because they failed to properly or adequately analyze their cases.

Clearly, there are good TV Attorneys as well. The first and most important secret in hiring an attorney for any matter is that not all attorneys are made alike -- so you have to trust your instincts.

Do you actually meet with an attorney when you go in for an interview or are you shoved off to a paralegal or secretary? You may not see the TV Attorney him or herself, but you should still be seeing a qualified attorney. Paralegals are not qualified to offer advice.

Are you treated as an important client with a legitimate legal need or are you just the next paycheck for the attorney? Trust your instincts. Does the attorney take an interest in you and your circumstances. Bankruptcy practice is filled with attorneys who want to force you into a standardized box that they have created to make it easy on them. Instead, the attorney should be trying to take advantage of every strategy to give you unique treatment, where possible, under the law. You are NOT a number on a list. You are a person with circumstances different from anyone else. the attorney should be taking time with you to understand your needs, wants and desires.

#2 Do Not Pay the Lowest Fee You Can Find

There is a temptation to go cheap when filing a bankruptcy. After all, it is just filing a bunch of forms. Right? Wrong!

Pay a competitive rate, but don't go with the lowest price. If the attorney is not charging a reasonable fee for his services, then the service he or she gives you will likely be also on the low side. You do get what you pay for. Good attorneys may meet with a client in bankruptcy two or three times just to sort out all the details. Those meetings cost money. If you are not paying a reasonable fee, don't complain if you don't get any attention and the work is not well formed.

#3 Do Not Pay Too Much Either and Don't be Pushed Into a Chapter 13 Just to Make the Attorney More Money

Some attorneys are out for themselves. Shop around to get the right mix of competency, client service and price. Some attorneys simply charge a lot of money because they ask for it and they get it. Assuming the attorney is competent, the work between attorney A and attorney B will not be that significantly different when you actually file your case.

With that in mind, analyze the client service and environment. Is the attorney's staff and service orientation justify the extra money. If you are treated poorly and are paying too much, you will certainly have buyer's remorse. Avoid hiring the attorney simply because you are bullied into it. Determine ahead of time that you are not going to hire the attorney for 24 hours after the initial interview.

Likewise, be aware that attorneys will do there best to put you into chapter 13 bankruptcies because they make almost double. Now, if it is justified, then by all means file under chapter 13. But if it is not entirely justified, then avoid chapter 13 as it is more expensive and takes three to five years to finish. One attorney in Las Vegas encouraged a woman who liked to gamble to go into a Chapter 13 so she could avoid "fraud." What the attorney didn't tell her was that gambling is legal in Nevada -- so the assertion of fraud was simply an attempt at putting the client into a more expensive product. That might work in bait-n-switch in retail, but lawyers are supposed to advise you based upon what is best for you, not them. You really need to trust that the attorney is acting in your best interest at all times.

#4 You Can Get Rid of Your Second Mortgage Under a Chapter 13

The good news is you can get rid of your second mortgage (and HELOCs) under certain circumstances. The bad news is you can only do it under Chapter 13 reorganizations. These will be a little more expensive and will take longer to administer, however, at the end of a payment plan over three to five years, you will have a house free and clear of a second mortgage. That is a very handsome savings.

To qualify, the value of your house has to be in excess of the value of your first mortgage. If it is, then you should be able to remove the second mortgage from your property.

#5 You Can Reorganize Your Business Under Chapter 13

Many people close up their small businesses because of the debt load and then they file personal bankruptcy to protect themselves from their creditors. There is a better solution. Under Chapter 13, you can reorganize your business debt and keep the business rolling.

In most cases, the attorney will have you dissolve the corporation or limited liability company before you file your bankruptcy. You will then assume all the debts of the business. You then tell the court you want to file under Chapter 13 and you are required to buy your business assets from the bankruptcy trustee at market price over an extended time. That allows you to keep the equipment, furnishings, etc. and strip your business from debt. That is a good place for business to operate in tough times -- debt free. Profits will come and you will keep more to yourself for the long-term.

#6 You Will Prosper After Bankruptcy

With a reduced debt ratio, you can start to thrive, not just survive. People who have learned to live off of cash are entirely at an advantage. There are no late fees, no credit card interest, no over the limit fees, to deal with. You will be shocked at how much cash you have at the end of the month. The real secret is how many millionaires have once gone through bankruptcy before. They know and have learned the benefit of living within their means and buying with cash. Cash is King!

#7 You Can Actually Clear Your Credit Record

With the right credit repair representative, you may be able to make significant repairs to your credit report after you have filed. It may take several months, but some debtors who have been discharged out of bankruptcy have had some success with clearing their records -- at least temporarily -- of their bankruptcies from appearing on their credit reports. This might allow you to establish post-bankruptcy credit a lot faster. Remember: Credit Report People have certain obligations under the law. If they cannot confirm certain information independently within 30 days, that information must come off the credit record. That is the law, regardless of whether you are taking advantage of the law to your benefit or not. Of course, public records will ultimately work their way back on official records -- so your relief may only be short in duration -- but that might be long enough to move into a new apartment.

#8 You Can Protect Your IRA's and 401k's

Don't cash out your IRA or 401k to try to make ends meet. Those retirement funds are protected and exempt in bankruptcy and will give you a very fat long-term investment that you can count on. In Nevada it is $500-$1 Million of retirement funds that you get to keep. So keep them untouched.

#9 Spend Up Your Exemptions for a Huge Savings

An exemption is an item that you own that is not or cannot be taken by the trustee from the bankruptcy. In other words, if "one gun" is exempt from the bankruptcy matter, then you should buy a gun because it will be yours and the Trustee cannot take it away from you in the bankruptcy. The attorney cannot (or is not supposed to) tell you how to plan this result and how to save money this way. So it is left for you to figure out. First, ask the bankruptcy attorney for a list of all current exemptions (this varies in kind and in amount from state to state). Second, determine what you can use to spend any available cash on these exemptions. If you have a 15 thousand dollar car exemption, then buy a $15,000.00 vehicle. Use all the exemptions if possible to their maximum level. That is what they are there for. KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS because the trustee will want to see where all the cash went. TRY TO BUY 90 DAYS BEFORE FILING BANKRUPTCY.

Pay Off Your Overdraft Card or Credit Line

There are two credit systems. The first is the consumer credit system that calculates your FICO and gives information to retailers about your credit worthiness and then there is a second system that is for the banks only. If you have an overdraft balance and you don't pay it off, then you will have a hard time opening up a checking account in the future. Now that checking accounts have debit cards from Visa or MasterCard, it is even more important that you keep your good bank credit by paying off all your overdrafts so you can have access to a credit card for trips, rentals, etc. in the future.

Chuck Schumer Destroys
Indymac's Chances for Recovery

Being a bank in today's challenging economic times is tough, but with friends like Chuck Schumer in the Senate, who needs enemies?

Late Friday, July 11th, Indymac Bank failed. The doors were shut and bolted and the Feds sent out press releases about FDIC insurance. Perhaps it would have been inevitable, but the Senator from New York made the bank's failure certain.

New Pulse Pen Perfect for Notes

A new writing gadget called the Pulse Pen is likely to change the way you take notes. The cigar shaped object allows users to coordinate recorded audio and handwritten notes by using specialized paper. The genius of this product lies in its ability to allow the user to later pull up a digital image of the notes on a computer and point to a place on that image to hear the audio recorded at the time the original note was taken. Users can also use the notepad to hear the audio play back through a speaker built into the pen.

Before seeing Get Smart, the movie, I had a chance to review the "reviews" of the media on Yahoo's movie section. I was disappointed to see the average coming in at a mighty "C+." That usually spells trouble for a comedy -- meaning it falls far short of expectations.

As my job is to see as many bad films as possible in a year's time, I got off my couch and drove to the local theater with my kids and wife in tow. I invited my mother-in-law, but she said she was feeling a little below the weather. I feared that my health was also about to suffer as a result of seeing a bad movie, but my expectations of disappointment were -- well disappointed. Get smart was exactly what one would expect Get Smart to be. It was classic Get Smart.

If you love the series, you will love the movie. If you hated the movie, you probably are a professional movie critic. I liked the movie, so I guess that means -- hey, wait a minute . . .

Beehive Standard Weekly: 4 Out of 5 Stars

Watching the commercials for the new animated feature Kung Fu Panda, the first thing that comes to mind is that a Panda doing Kung Fu seems a little awkward. After only a few minutes of the film from Dreamworks, you get the feeling that this was the intent of the writers.