Geraci Law Attorney Zachary Price Reports: One of our senior citizen clients recently had hip replacement surgery. She left her walker in the car, thinking she could make it into the office without it. I could see she was having a difficult time, so I had her hold my arm and walked her into and out of the office.
Geraci Law Attorney Mariusz Zatorski Reports: A married couple came to our Cottage Grove office one morning to sign their petition. They brought most of the documents I needed to file their case, but forgot to bring their pay stubs. I stayed at the office past closing time so they could drop off the pay stubs after work, filed their case the very next day, and notified their payroll department to stop the garnishment.
Geraci Law Attorney Mark Levine Reports: I walked a client in a wheelchair out to her friend’s car after our meeting, and held the wheelchair so she could climb into the passenger seat. She wasn’t able to make it into the car on her own, so I got her permission to help lift her up and hoisted her into the car. She was extremely thankful.
Geraci Law Attorney David Kosk Reports: A client signed up for a Chapter 13 to get back his car, which had been repossessed two weeks ago. As he signed his petition, I called the auction house to make sure his car had not been sold. I finished reviewing his case, filed it that afternoon, and called the auction house back. Two days after filing, our client had his car back.
Geraci Law Attorney David Lulkin Reports: When a client arrived at his appointment one morning, the parking lot outside the office was packed. I moved my car out of the lot and parked it down the street to make room for our client.
Geraci Law Attorney Dale Reports: I bonded with a client at her first appointment over General Hospital (where she saw our ads). I grew up with one of the actors on the show and shared stories about what he was like as a kid. We also talked about her kids’ education: her oldest just graduated from high school, and her middle child is starting to think about high schools so I gave her a list of magnet schools in the area.
Geraci Law Attorney Robert Brynjelsen Reports: A client came in to sign her petition. She gave me all the documents I needed to file her case, but hadn’t finished her Credit Counseling course. I called up Hananwill and let her use the phone in my office so she could finish the course then and there. By the time she left the office, I had her certificate in hand, and filed her case later that day!
Geraci Law Attorney Scott Greenwood Reports: My client forgot to bring her Social Security card to her court date. Since our office is in the same building as the Trustee’s, we walked over and pulled tax transcripts from the IRS’s website. This saved our client from having to come back downtown for another court date.
Geraci Law Attorney Laura Caputo Reports: A diabetic client felt her blood sugar fluctuate during an appointment and needed to eat something. I offered to warm up her sandwich in the microwave. She was so grateful for the warm sandwich and our services that she hugged me before she left the office.
Geraci Law Attorney Frank Hernandez Reports: The Berwyn crew assisted a wheelchair-bound client: David Kosk moved chairs to clear a path; Frank Hernandez rolled her to the door; and paralegal Belfor assisted her on the ramp as attorney David Lugardo provided supervised the entire operation. Our client was extremely pleased with the level of attention and concern.
Geraci Law Attorney David Lugardo Reports: I assisted PACE transport drivers in unloading and loading a disabled client off of and onto the transport vans.
Geraci Law Attorney Jason Kara Reports: An elderly client was coming in with a walker. As soon as I saw him I ran out and opened the door for him. When he was leaving I walked him out and helped load the walker into his car.
Geraci Law Attorney Jason Shimotake Reports: We discussed the client’s very expensive mode of transportation. I showed her cheaper transportation options such as ZIP cars, GO cars and UBER cabs.
Geraci Law Attorney Rodney Geer Reports: A client came to our office to drop off a payment. While talking with her, I found out she had all of the documents I needed to file her case. I made sure she had some time to spare, then prepared her case for filing and had her sign her petition while she was still in the office. She was ecstatic when I filed her a case a few days later.
Geraci Law Attorney Abraham Pinon Reports: The client was noticeably depressed when I came out to greet him in the waiting room. During the consultation I found out that his financial predicament started due to marriage troubles. By the end of his consultation we had formulated a plan to repay his debt through a Chapter 13. As he left, he said that he was relieved to finally have a plan to address all of his debts.
Geraci Law Attorney Felicia Petroff Reports: One of our Chapter 13 clients came in on April 15th to drop off her tax returns, but she hadn’t filed them yet and it was after 4 pm when she got to the office. She didn’t know which pages belonged to her state return and which pages belonged to her federal return. I sorted through her tax paperwork, looked up the correct mailing address for each agency, and advised her to go to the post office down the street to mail them and make sure the envelopes are post-marked for 4/15 so she would not incur any late fees. She was already happy that we had quickly gotten court approval for her to purchase a vehicle after her old car was totaled in a hit and run.
Geraci Law Attorney Briana Czajka Reports: A married couple ended up getting divorced while their Chapter 13 case was still ongoing. The wife wanted to purchase a car and needed financing in order to do so. Normally, the court would have required us to submit both clients’ recent pay stubs and current budget, but after the divorce our clients moved apart and stopped sharing finances. In this case, I found a way to get court approval for the wife to purchase a car without having to submit the husband’s income and expenses.
Geraci Law Attorney Michael Holsen Reports: Our client filed a Chapter 13 that proposed to pay back his debts in full, including $7,000 that he owed to the IRS for tax year 2012. The IRS missed the deadline to file a claim in his case, but told our client that, regardless, he would still owe the IRS. I explained that as long as he finishes the Chapter 13 plan, his IRS debt should be eliminated in full due to their failure to file a claim. The client was thrilled that he may eliminate $7,000 in IRS debt, and that his plan will end six months sooner than expected!
Geraci Law Attorney Steven Camp Reports: A Chapter 7 client called in, upset because one of her creditors kept threatening to sue her after we filed her case. I called the creditor straightaway to set them straight, and got them to agree not to contact her ever again.
Geraci Law Attorney Joseph Blaha Reports: One of our Chapter 13 clients was accustomed to having her brother help file her tax returns. Her brother passed away and she did not have the money to pay a tax preparer. I reviewed her W-2’s, determined her returns were not complicated, and showed her how she can file taxes on the IRS and Wisconsin Department of Revenue websites. This saved our client the $200 that she would have needed to pay a tax preparer!
Geraci Law Attorney Joseph D’Onofrio Reports: A client needed help getting a copy of the deed showing when she sold her house. This issue wasn’t related to her bankruptcy, but I helped her look up the information on the Recorder of Deeds website, saving her the time and trouble of finding this information herself.
Geraci Law Attorney Kristin Schindler Reports: A carried an elderly client’s bag into and out of the office and helped her to her car.
Geraci Law Attorney Alex Wilson Reports: A client was unable to get her tax returns as they were in a storage unit that had been seized for not paying storage fees. She was flustered because she did not know how to obtain copies of her taxes and thought they were lost. I helped her request her taxes online from the IRS’s website.
Geraci Law Attorney Alexander George Reports: A creditor garnished $1,600 from the wages of one of our Wisconsin Chapter 7 clients before we filed her case. I managed to get all of this refunded. These funds would not have been refunded if we had not diligently followed up with the creditor after her we filed her case.
Geraci Law Attorney Ashley Chike Reports: The Trustee filed a motion to dismiss a married couple’s Chapter 13 after they fell behind on payments. The clients had fallen behind because of some unforeseen expenses, and could not afford to cure the default without falling behind on their other bills. I filed a response to the Trustee’s objection asking the court to write off the arrears so our clients could simply resume making payments to the Trustee. The Judge accepted my proposal, which prevented the case from getting dismissed and made our clients very happy!
Geraci Law Attorney Christopher Holoyda Reports: A Chapter 13 client got an offer for his motorcycle, which would allow him to pay off his bankruptcy case early. The purchaser was about to withdraw his offer, so with an assist from attorneys Andrew Golanowski and Michael Holsen, I got court approval for the client to sell his motorcycle. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Geraci Law Attorney Ann Kramer Reports: A client came to her consultation with her newborn twin baby boys. She only had a few more days of maternity leave left, and wanted her case filed before she went back to work. While she took her Credit Counseling in the office, a paralegal drafted her bankruptcy petition and I got copies of her pay stubs and tax returns. She signed her petition the same day as her consultation, and we filed her case in less than a week.
Geraci Law Attorney Nana Russell Reports: A client came in to sign her petition, but forgot to bring her pay stubs and didn’t know how to access them online. While I pulled her pay stubs and tax returns, she showed me pictures of her family and told me stories about her kids. She then reviewed her bankruptcy petition attorney John Clasing, who filed her case later that week. Our client was so grateful that on her way out she gave me a high five and told me, "Good teamwork!"
Geraci Law Attorney Nathan Curtis Reports: I spoke with a married couple who came to see us after one of their creditors filed a lawsuit against them and froze their bank account. I explained how they can go to court to get the funds released so they can try to get their mortgage modified. They were thrilled with the advice and plan to come back to see us.
Geraci Law Attorney John Sadler Reports: A married couple dropped by our office in the River Oaks Mall with some, but all, of the paperwork needed to file their case. Rather than scheduling another appointment for them to come back once they had all of their documents, I set them up to take their Credit Counseling course in the office, pulled their tax returns online, and drafted their petition on the spot. They walked out of the office with Automatic Stay in hand and huge smiles on their faces. Debt-free is the way to be!
Geraci Law Attorney Lacey Stier Reports: A client brought her one-year-old son to her appointment and he was getting extremely fussy. I closed the office door so he could run around in a confined area; when that didn’t work, the client asked if I minded if she breast-fed him to calm him down. I said it was no problem and we were able to finish our appointment in peace. The client and her husband thanked me for being understanding.
Geraci Law Attorney Chad Garrapy Reports: Our client is a veteran who had to have both of his legs amputated. His only means of transportation is Yellow Cab. He buys six vouchers a month and has to use two each time he goes out. Rather than have him waste two vouchers on another appointment, I finished reviewing his case and filed it while he was still in the office.
Geraci Law Attorney Jennifer Asbury Reports: A client’s son drove her to her court date, but they had trouble finding parking so he dropped her off outside. I saw her looking around anxiously, so I asked what was wrong and found out she hadn’t brought her phone. I let her use my cell so she could call him from the courthouse, and he ended up meeting her outside in the lobby.
Geraci Law Attorney Lisa Ellmaurer Reports: A client’s daughter got very filed up at an appointment and had repeatedly expressed her dismay that we did not have any green crayons because it is her favorite color. I reminded the gril that blue + yellow = green, and suggested she layer the crayons to make her favorite color. She explained "Oh yeah!" and spent the rest of her mom’s appointment happily coloring everything green.
Geraci Law Attorney Daniel Fasman Reports: While preparing a client for her court date in Rockford, I found out that she had only been to Rockford twice in her life and was worried about getting lost. I printed directions from the client’s house to the courthouse in Rockford, and told her where to find free parking.
Geraci Law Attorney Amanda Lester Reports: As she was leaving the courthouse, a client realized she had forgot to bring her phone. I used my phone to call her a cab and waited with her for the cab to arrive. She talked about the passing of her niece, who had been killed a few weeks ago in Indianapolis. I offered my condolences and we discussed what needed to be done to make Indianapolis a safer place. As the cab pulled up, I made sure she had enough money to pay the fare to get home.
Geraci Law Attorney Jonathan Parker Reports: Four years after completing his Chapter 7 case, one of our clients applied for a mortgage. A minor typo on his petition was preventing him from being able to close the deal, so I reopened his case and amended his petition to correct the error.
Geraci Law Attorney Kathryn Mackenzie Reports: The bankruptcy court moved to dismiss a Chapter 13 case because our clients had fallen behind on their payments. They had fallen behind because the husband had been out of work for the past six months, and his wife had taken a pay cut at work. They were very worried that the court would dismiss their case after they had been making payments for almost five years. After reviewing their case in detail, I managed to reduce their Chapter 13 payments by over $1,000 per month. They both walked out happy knowing that their case would not be dismissed.
Geraci Law Attorney Ryan Fojo Reports: A client fell behind on rent while she was making her Chapter 13 payments, and her landlord asked for permission from the bankruptcy court to evict her. Even though we couldn’t dispute that our client’s rent was past due, I convinced the judge to give her a week so she could start packing up her things.
Geraci Law Attorney Jon Clasing Reports: After their consultation, our clients made a point of telling me they appreciated my professionalism, and way I took extra time to explain everything. They said I had made the experience a lot easier for them.
Geraci Law Attorney Kyle Dallmann Reports: One of our Chapter 13 clients incurred IRS debt after we filed his case, and he didn’t have the funds to pay it. I convinced our personal contact at the IRS to add the debt to his Chapter 13. This will allow our client to pay his IRS debt through his Chapter 13, and he won’t need to worry about dealing with the IRS during his bankruptcy.
Geraci Law Attorney Andrew Nelson Reports: A client came to his consultation looking depressed. I asked what was wrong, and found out the state had just suspended his license for a car accident that occurred years ago, which meant he could no longer work as a deliveryman. I told him he could file a Chapter 7 to reinstate his license so he could get back to work. I filed his case two weeks later, his license is now valid, and he’s back to work!
Geraci Law Attorney Andrew Golanowski Reports: A potential client dropped by unannounced one morning, in 45 minutes before the office opened. I had gotten to work early that day, so I brought her in as she apologized for not setting an appointment. She signed up to file a Chapter 7 and I filed her case two weeks later.
Geraci Law Attorney Robert Crowley Reports: I helped to recover over $1,500 in garnished wages that came out of our clients’ wages before we filed their Chapter 13 case.
Geraci Law Attorney Morgan Decker Reports: During her consultation, a client mentioned she had been to a women’s clinic. I asked why and I found out she had had complications with her last pregnancy. I talked with her about how hard it is going through a pregnancy (trust me, I know!).
Geraci Law Attorney Marc Affolter Reports: At her first appointment, not only was one of our clients nervous about filing bankruptcy, she felt guilty about it. I could tell she was nervous, so didn’t jump right into discussing her case. I told her about the thousands of clients we have helped just in the last few years, and asked what she does to relieve stress. She described how she loves to play with her dog after a long day. I have two dogs myself and foster rescue dogs as well, and we ended up spending the first 15 minutes of our meeting talking about dogs. By the time our conversation turned to bankruptcy, she was much more relaxed and felt better about getting help with her debt.
Geraci Law Attorney Juan Villalpando Reports: On the day a client signed up to file a Chapter 13, his house was scheduled to be sold at a Sheriff’s Sale in a week. He was reasonably nervous, and said he hadn’t been able to sleep the night before. By the end of the consultation, we had come up with a plan to stop the sale and pay back his mortgage arrears through the Chapter 13. He walked out of the office relieved, saying he’d finally be able to get a good night’s rest. We filed his case three days later, saving his house from foreclosure.
Geraci Law Attorney Lizette Villegas Reports: A client brought her five-year-old son to an appointment to discuss her Chapter 7 case. He was well-behaved until half-way through the meeting, when he began getting impatient. I quickly handed him a Mickey Mouse coloring book and some crayons. He quietly colored during the rest of the appointment while I finalized his mom’s case. As they were leaving, he gave me his masterpiece to hang up in my office. I filed his mom’s case the next day.
Geraci Law Attorney Scott Greenwood Reports: In a Chapter 13 case, the IRS filed two separate claims for the same tax debt, which would have caused the IRS to be paid double the amount our client owed them. I objected to the claim and the court sustained my objection.