Need help filing bankruptcy? Muoi Chea can help!…read more
Recently some family friends found themselves in a financial mess. They've always had financial issues but it was at an all-time breaking point. They had over $200K in credit card debt, unpaid bills, late fees, lawsuits from creditors, nonstop phone calls from collection agencies, and they were trying to borrow money from friends and family left and right. They tried debt consolidation/debt relief after seeing a TV commercial but that didn't help.
We decided their best bet was to file bankruptcy. Since they aren't native English speakers, I helped them through the entire process (took about 1-1.5 years) including coming on Yelp to find a bankruptcy lawyer. I had no idea what to expect and honestly felt embarrassed and ashamed that I was even contacting someone regarding bankruptcy.
But I guess I should be thankful that we weren't personally filing bankruptcy. And I chalk up the whole journey as a learning experience.
Muoi (pronounced "Mwee") and her team were very helpful in filing the necessary paperwork and informing us of what documents were needed. I had the fun job of gathering all their credit card statements, credit card company lawsuits, gambling win/loss statements, property tax info, bank statements, and more. I also took over their finances with regards to paying the mortgage, utilities etc. In the process, we unearthed the main issue: casinos and gambling addictions.
For payment to the office, Muoi would usually require cash, but wisely, she would accept my personal checks lol. I guess with bankruptcy filers, you can't really trust that their checks will clear but she trusted us. ^_^
My only issue (hence the 4 stars) was how our meeting times would ALWAYS start late. That's a pet peeve of mine. If your meeting is set for 11am, don't make your clients wait 20 or 30 minutes while you wrap up your previous meeting. Either schedule more time per meeting or do a better job with the time management. It seemed like every time we met, we would be sitting in the waiting room twiddling our thumbs while my frustration grew. If it was one time, I could overlook it, but it seemed like every single time, it was just expected we would not start on time. But perhaps a lot of her clients have issues with showing up on time so it's an endless cycle, who knows. But for me, the punctuality is a must for a professional company. 5 minutes, sure, but more than 15 each time is showing this is a chronic issue and you're not being considerate of people's time. Even our phone calls would start late!! But alas, in the end, it all worked out....
Bankruptcy is an interesting process. I'm shocked more people don't file bankruptcy because it was almost too easy. I had expected these family friends to get reprimanded somewhere along the process, or at least a little lecture or a slap on the wrist? Something?! A mention of possibly watching Dave Ramsey or Caleb Hammer? Nope. Muoi had no idea who those people even are. I feel like a bankruptcy lawyer needs to know who Dave Ramsey is, but I guess it's not her job to fix the root issues. She's just there to help with the filing.
Yeah, filing bankruptcy for these individuals was almost too easy. I'm shocked at HOW easy it was. On the day of their Zoom court date, there were probably 10-12 filers before our friends' names were called. One of the questions was, "Have you ever filed bankruptcy before?" It was so interesting that probably at least 50% of the filers said yes, they had filed bankruptcy before. Guess they've learned that you can just screw up your finances, rack up a ton of credit card debt, and then 7 years later, it'll all be erased. This blew my mind because in my world, you need to fix the root issue and find out what caused you to file bankruptcy to begin with, and then find ways to avoid doing it again in the future!
But enough with my ranting and soapbox. The bankruptcy filing went through and now the credit card debts are just a distant memory for these friends. Filing was so easy that these people now have the audacity to go back to the casinos--which is what started this whole issue. *scream* Annoying and frustrating, but what can you do? Addictions are hard to break. I've done my part and now I just need to get away from these people because they've obviously not learned a thing from filing bankruptcy. When I see people who have made a mess with their finances despite me trying to help, it's time to step away for my own sanity's sake. Maybe if Muoi had yelled at them, it would have been more helpful...
Thanks for reading my dissertation. Muoi is great if you need help filing (or helping a friend/family member file). Just be organized and respond to their phone calls, emails, texts. Glad Muoi and her team were able to help us during the difficult time when we were in new waters and trying to navigate the world of bankruptcy filing.
