Banal Bankruptcy Blog Titles

The 50- to 60-page (or more) document one files with the bankruptcy court is fully titled: Voluntary Petition, Schedules and Statements. This is because it features a section called
"Voluntary Petition," and it also has Schedules and Statements.

Luckily, lawyers are into the whole brevity thing. So we just call the whole shebang a "petition," the way you'd refer to say, the United States House of Representatives of the 112th United States Congress as "The House," or Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as "Star Wars."*

Now among the many schedules in the petition is Schedule I, which lists income. The problem we encounter is that the other Schedules (A through H and J) do not follow I's helpful lead; they don't match the first-letters of their respective subject matters. I is for income--that's good enough for me. Yet, Schedule B, for example lists one's personal property. How is that useful? While the practitioner can readily connect any schedule-letter to its subject, the casual participant wants for a mnemonic to better familiarize with the schedules.

Since I don't care to make one, I do the next best thing and employ forced initialisms.
Thus, the subject of Schedule B--personal property is referred to instead as bersonal broperty. The exemptions stated on Schedule C become Cexemptions, with a soft C. Schedule F features unsecured debts, which sound better if they're Funsecured debts. Schedule H features co-debtors, whom we consider Ho-debtors.

As a bonus, our office fancies British pronunciation of "schedule." Hence, we frequently direct a client's attention to her bersonal broperty shed-ule or reference the effect of Funsecured discharge upon Ho-debtors. It causes occasional confusion, but I think it's for the best.
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*Hon. Palpatine gives this analogy in explaining definition of "petition" under 11 USC 101(42). See United States v. Lucas, 12 B.R. 94 (1997).

San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney, Asaph Abrams
Offering free, no-obligation chapter 7 bankruptcy and chapter 13 bankruptcy consultations in San Diego. Visit us at http://www.bankonitsd.com/ or call 858-344-0500. E-mail admin@abramslawsd.com to set an appointment. Also representing Imperial County residents.