Bankruptcy Myths Debunked: What a 45-Year Attorney Wants You to Know

MTWT Barry Levine

August 13, 2026 · 45:33

INTRO/OUTRO 00:00

You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money nerd and financial coach. Now

tighten those purse strings and open those ears. It's the Money Talk with TIFF podcast. Hey,

TIFFANY GRANT 00:16

everyone. I am so excited because I have Barry Levine on the line. And first, I just want to start by saying.

I'm so grateful that you're here. I know this interview came after a hard season for you, so I appreciate you

taking the time. But we're going to talk about something that you spent 45 years demystifying, and that is

the debt boogeyman. You are a bankruptcy attorney, and people have so many questions about

bankruptcy. So let's just start off with, what is the biggest myth your clients walk in with? The thing that

they were sure was true, but that just isn't true.

BARRY LEVINE 00:52

Well, you know, the real problem is they listen to their friends who heard it from a friend who read it on

Google. So none of none of what you hear is reality. Like no one comes to your house to see what your

assets are worth. Trustees don't sell houses because generally and we can get it to this in greater length.

Most. Bankruptcies, Chapter 7s, liquidations that individuals file are what are called assetless cases. If I

would file your case here today in Massachusetts, four months from now you'd get your discharge and life

would go on. 99% of the time you'd still own your home because it's exempt. The cars are exempt.

pension plans are exempt. It's, you know, it's, it's, it really, it, you know, when I, there's a creditors meeting

that some people may have heard about, and I tell clients the anxiety is held a lot worse than the reality.

You know, because if you could see me, I'm wearing a purple t-shirt that I'm one of Jerry's kids, Jerry

being Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. And that's usually my appearance outfit at the 341 meetings

because I'm appearing before another attorney. My assistant finally convinced me that when I have court

hearings, because for years during COVID, we were only doing it by phone, I hadn't put a suit or a jacket

on in five years. She told me I should start wearing a shirt and a tie because wearing eyesore Jerry, even

though they see me from the neck up, is not appropriate for the court. Being a Jewish husband, former

Jewish husband, I guess, I do what I'm told.

TIFFANY GRANT 02:55

No, I completely understand. And actually, an audience, because, oh, let me preface by saying I asked the

audience for questions as it relates to bankruptcy. And an audience member asked a question that cuts to

the core of how people see this and kind of what you hinted at just now. Is bankruptcy an actual tool to be

utilized, a last resort, or really just another trap? So after 45 years in this field, how do you answer that?

BARRY LEVINE 03:21

I look at. it as a business decision. You know, when it comes down to things, you have to put food on the

table, you have to pay the rent, you have to put gas in the car, you know, if you have kids, you know, I'm

old enough, I played in the band in junior high school, in high school, I didn't have to pay for it. Now you

have to pay for all these things. And, you know, that's more important than the credit cards, because the

problem with the credit cards, listen, You know, if in the States here, if you have $100,000, they maybe will

give you, if they're sports, a 4% interest rate. They don't even give you gifts anymore, you know. I actually

went to San Francisco once when I opened up a CD. But, you know, if you have a credit card with them,

what do they charge you interest? 26%. 28% if you start defaulting, they not only charge you high interest,

they reduce your line of credit. And for lack of a better phrase, it's like shoveling shit against the tide. You

know, when you look, you know, I don't know if any place else other than the United States has the that

thing on the bill that says if you pay the minimum payment, your children's children's children are going to

pay it off. You know, you really have to look at it as a business decision and that you're at war with your

creditors because they're taking food out of your mouth. They want to take your rent away.

TIFFANY GRANT 04:59

Let's take a quick break from the episode because I want to tell you something I've been building behind

the scenes and why I'm asking for your help. So my first book, Money Moves and Mindset Shifts,

publishes September 29th with Wiley. It's a framework I've been teaching for eight years, finally in one

place. Stewardship over scarcity, managing what you have so it grows into what you need. The same

principles that got me from a struggling single mom to living in a new country with a business that actually

sustains us. So pre-orders determine a lot in traditional publishing. First print runs, shelf placement,

whether the books get seen by people. who don't already follow me. So the window between now and

September 29th is when that math gets decided. So if you want to help out, go to moneytalkwithtea. com

forward slash moves and order your book today. Now back to the episode. And that's so true. There's a

few ways I want to go with this because you said a mouthful just now. Let's talk about-I'm from Brooklyn.

BARRY LEVINE 06:03

I talk a lot. No worries.

TIFFANY GRANT 06:05

But let's talk about the creditors and the debt collection, because I feel like that's the scariest part for

people. You know, when they get the first mispayment, then you see the potential lawsuit. Like walk us

through that timeline. What does that look like?

BARRY LEVINE 06:25

Well, to me. You know, there used to be a comedian. You know, his funny line was he was quadrosexual.

He would do anything with anyone for a quarter. But his other shtick was, and I don't know if they still do it,

you used to be able to send correspondence if you were traveling abroad, if you needed money from your

parents, you could send it to the American Express office, like if you were in Paris or London. So his shtick

was he used to send his bills to the American Express offices and eventually they go around the world and

they hit his house again and take another trip around the world. But the reality of the situation is, you

know, you need to be more proactive because every, at least again, because of consumer protection

statutes. Every letter that you're going to get from a creditor is going to have in it that if you dispute the

amount we claim is due, you're entitled to dispute it in writing. And first off, you know, nowadays,

unfortunately, everybody gives their creditors their cell phones and this, you know, so instead of the rule of

thumb when I had a lot more hair used to be three months in arrears, that's when you heard from a

creditor. Now you hear from them the day before they text you to tell you a payment is due when they tell

you that the payment was due and you didn't make it. You know, which is one of the reasons when my

mother was alive, I had, what is it, I have Verizon and I got to get her on my family plan. And when she

passed away, I decided to keep her number. And that's the number I gave out to people. Did I ever check

it? No, but they had someplace to call. So again, first off, the collection, the creditors don't want to do

anything more than bother you and maybe you'll make a payment. So they'll send that letter. And if you

have a computer and a printer, you make yourself a form letter in return and say, I dispute the amount

due. Total bullshit. It's a credit card nine times out of 10. You either use it or you don't use it. You know, it's

not a tort case where your neck hurts. Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't. And then eventually the creditor

will get get tired of nudging you because you're not paying them. They're wasting their time. And

ultimately, they're all they are wasting their time. So they'll send it to a collection agency. Now, a collection

agency can sue you. All they can do is nudge you, which means pester in Yiddish in case nobody knows.

And like my mother used to nudge me all the time. And they send you that same letter. And, you know,

what happens in response to the first letter to the creditor is they send you copies of all your invoices. So

now the collection agency, when you send that response and be sure to change the addressee. They then

have to go to the credit card company, get copies of all the invoices, and they'll send you copies of all the

invoices. Well, you're not going to pay them if you're not paying anybody. But again, it's buying you time.

What then happens is they eventually get fed up because collection agencies, like I said, can't sue you.

They send it to an attorney. Maybe they send it to an attorney where you live, like in Massachusetts.

perhaps they send it to an attorney in California and you live in Massachusetts or some other state. You

know, that to me is a waste of time because any judgment they're going to get if you're going to bother

with it, not that you have a defense to it, they have to come in force in your state. So them getting a

judgment in some other state, you know, let them have a nice time. Finally. they'll sue you because first

off, the collection attorney, again, sends you that same letter. And even though here stamps are what,82

cents or some such crazy number, you send them that same letter back. I dispute the amount due. And

they have to then go to the collection agency who goes, it's like playing telephone, goes to the creditor

who sends back. You now get another shitload of documents. Maybe use them to print out on your

computer, use the fresh back. Again, meaningless. Because if you're not paying, you're not paying. Or if

you can't pay, you can't pay. So they'll sue you. From my perspective, it's not the end of the world. I know

it's annoying, but I've been doing this a long time. You know, suing you doesn't get them their money.

Attorneys have drawers filled with. judgments that you can't do anything with because when you have to

look at yourself in these terms, if you're in business or something like that, you want to make sure that

you're judgment-proof because if the shit hits the fan, there's nothing you could lose. So they'll sue you,

and as a courtesy, when I used to do bank, I still do bankruptcies for people, but I used to do like a pro se

answer. Because to retain an attorney to defend a lawsuit that you have no defense to cost you more than

the bankruptcy is going to cost. So I would draft general denials and all sorts of other bullshit in there and

go out over the client's name. But the problem now is with technology, and I find myself to keep telling

myself the computer is my friend. The collection firms who specialize in this stuff. inundate you. I don't

know if your listeners know what discovery is in the context of a lawsuit. Interrogatories, questions that

need to be answered, requests for admissions. Are they true? Are they false? And requests for production

of documents. Basically, you send them back all the bills they sent you. So, and nobody, you know, most

lay people, attorneys don't like to deal with this stuff. I don't do this sort of work. So eventually what

happens, and in most states it's the same, they'll get a judgment against you. And what happens when

they get a judgment is the way a judgment gets enforced, and this is in most states, and this is maybe six

months, eight months, a year down the road. They have to go through all sorts of hoops. They have to get

a default judgment and then assess damages. And you can sit there if you want and look at all this stuff

online and chuckle. So they get their judgment. Now, most states, they'll hand the judgment off to a deputy

sheriff or a constable who'll come to your house, which is a bit annoying. And if you decide to answer the

door. They'll have the judgment which says you owe them $48,000. And of course, in a perfect world,

you'll say, let me get my checkbook. I'll be right back. But being an inveterate cynic, and as I mentioned,

being from Brooklyn, there's no such thing as a perfect world. So the poor sheriff goes back to the court

with the judgment not satisfied. At this point, and this is so far down the line that if you acknowledge you're

having financial problems and you've spoken with an attorney, you probably filed bankruptcy by then. It's

something akin to what was once called debtor's court. A creditor can have the court issue a summons

and summons you into court and inquire about your ability to repay. In my opinion, that's the one thing, if

you pay attention to things, that you need to show up to, because if you don't, the courts will issue, and

other states do the same thing, a capius for your arrest, basically an arrest warrant. And you'll be tooling

TIFFANY GRANT 18:09

Man, you said. What's that? No, I was going to say you said a mouth. I have so many questions.

BARRY LEVINE 18:17

Well, now we didn't see. You know, what I'm talking about is, for instance, you know, you start a business

and who are the easiest people to tap into? Your family and friends, right? And why should your family and

friends, from an insulation point of view, protecting your business going forward, why should not they not

be like a bank if they've actually lent you money? You know, so the thing to do is, you know, if somebody's

lent you 50 grand, your dad or your mom or both your parents, you sign a provisory note, you give them a

security interest on your business. And then to make it real schmaltzy, you give them a mortgage securing

your guarantee on the house. Now you're eating up equity because getting back to. being judgment proof

and having a no asset case, that's the perfect world, even for this Brooklyn boy.

TIFFANY GRANT 19:20

Gotcha. So let me ask you a question on that. Sure. Because there's so many, like I said, so many

questions. We're going to have to do a part two, maybe part three. But with what you just said, I want to

kind of hone in on what the difference is between secured and unsecured debt when things go south.

Because you mentioned being judgment proof. So let's talk about that a little bit.

BARRY LEVINE 19:46

Well, being judgment proof means that if creditors try to collect from you, you have no assets for them to

satisfy their client. Being judgment proof means that there is nothing you can lose if the shit hits the fan.

You have to look at it, like I was saying before, early to see what assets from, let's say, a bankruptcy point

of view you could lose. And if everything you have, like, for instance, in Massachusetts, aside from

Florida, we probably have the best homestead act in the country. You protect up to a million dollars worth

of equity. in your primary residence, which is why most people who go through a bankruptcy, you know,

the house is worth $700,000. Let's say the house is worth $1,000,000 too. It has a $600,000 mortgage on

it. The house would have to be worth with the $1,000,000 homestead exemption,1.6, and it isn't. So When

you go through your bankruptcy meeting, you provide the trustee with a copy of the deed, a copy of the

mortgage statement, a copy of the homestead, and a copy of an appraisal. You know, the best example I

give, I don't know if anybody else, I used to play basketball when I was young, I don't look it. But, you

know, the kid who couldn't play, but he was the guy who brought the ball every week. If you didn't let him

play, he took the ball home. Trustees don't look to sell homes for the hell of it. In an assetless case, they

get paid $60. They don't spend a lot of time, you know. And then the interesting thing about, you know,

even if you're not judgment proof, sort of a trustee's path of least resistance when dealing with a debtor

who has unexempt assets. You know, I can give you an example. I have a debtor right now who. has a

house in a suburb called Melrose. That's their primary residence. She owns a family something or other up

in New Hampshire in the woods. And there is unprotected equity in the house in New Hampshire because

you only have one homestead. And that's probably in every state. The path of least resistance for Chapter

7 trustee and actually for most people is to get money and not do any work. It's my favorite time. And

we're my client is buying back her interest in the real estate from the trustee. So when she gets her

discharge, she'll own her house in Melrose and she'll own her house in New Hampshire. free and clear of

all of her creditors. All I can say is America is a wonderful place.

TIFFANY GRANT 23:06

All right. So I want to switch gears a little bit because we hear about all these numbers when it comes to

bankruptcy, chapter seven, chapter 13, chapter 11. So let's just talk about chapter seven versus chapter

13 real quick. Without the legal jargon, who is each one actually for?

BARRY LEVINE 23:28

Oh, no problem. You know, we'll talk about the religious sacrifice before you have to file the case, but I can

leave that for later. Basic difference between the two is a chapter seven, and it's all based on household

income. The chapter seven, like I think I said, I don't even remember. I think I said earlier, if I filed your

case today, four months from now, you'd get your discharge. That's it. And you'd get new credit card

solicitations and do whatever you want to do. A chapter 13 is what's called a wage earner plan. And

people, and it pains me when I've had a few cases where they're 100% chapter 13, so it does indeed pain

me. But for instance, to be a chapter 13 candidate and you're a household of four. your gross annual

income would have to be almost $179,000. And if it is, then you do something called the means test,

which determines what your disposable income is, which is sort of like my father used to say, if he had

wheels, he'd be a baby carriage. Sometimes it has no relationship to reality. which is, you know, they'll

determine your monthly disposable income is $800, but your income and expenses, which appear in

another part of the petition, you're underwater by $1,000. That's why I keep Kafka on my desk. None of it

makes any sense. So the other reason people file Chapter 13s is because if you have mortgage arrears,

you can file a 13. And pay your mortgage arrears out over five years with no interest while you pay your

current mortgage payment. Sometimes easier said than done. But, you know, it's a way to save a house.

TIFFANY GRANT 25:34

Gotcha. So just to make sure I'm hearing you correctly. So chapter seven usually ends in just complete

discharges. So they just say.

BARRY LEVINE 25:44

Discharge of everything except certain tax debts. Income tax can be discharged. It has to do with how old

they are and if you filed the taxes on time, more than three years old. And student loans, though the

government has changed their stance on student loan discharge. Five or so years ago, I used to say, pick

a bus that you want to walk in front of or a train, and that'll take care of your student loans. But in the past

few years, I've been thinking of getting a counter on my website. You know, I think I've discharged over

half a million. And they look at a lot of factors having to do with good faith, whether the loans are more

than 10 years old. whether the school is still open that you graduated from, whether whatever degree you

had, you know, it turned out to be the job you're doing. Good faith. If you've made payments, if you've

been deferred, there's another process that I usually once I file a client's bankruptcy, chapter seven. In

fact, like I said, being computer challenged, I was doing starting one today and it wouldn't let me upload.

There's a website where you can find all of your federal loan information. And that's what we use to get,

you know, everything necessary to look at the student loans. But otherwise, getting back to Chapter 7,

yeah, that's basically it. You know, you discharge, I guess the legal term would be all your dischargeable

debt. Wow.

TIFFANY GRANT 27:29

OK. And then Chapter 13 is pretty much like just restructuring your debt, but it's based on how much you

make.

BARRY LEVINE 27:37

Well, it's paying it's paying your creditors your what you pay them is based on two factors. whether you

have any equity in your assets that would be available to your creditors. And like I said, most people, even

in Chapter 13, don't. And then it comes down to the means test, which determines, you know, your

mortgage payments, car loans, everything out of pocket. Like I said, expenses for the kids. You know, I'm

finding that nowadays. I'm doing bankruptcies and chapter 13s, like I said, it pains me, for young people

who have high income but don't have any real expenses. You know, they don't have a mortgage payment

that you take off the top. They don't have the costs associated with it. And as a result, their plan payments

have been quite high, which, again, is sometimes easier said than done to make the plan payment.

TIFFANY GRANT 28:43

Right, right. So let me ask you a question, because an audience member asked why we never hear about

Chapter 11. Is that purely for businesses or do individuals ever use it?

BARRY LEVINE 28:54

Well, I've actually, it's mostly for people who are in business. You know, if you're in business, you shouldn't

be a sole proprietor because then you'd probably have to file a Chapter 11 if your business is of a certain

size. But a chapter 11 is more of a, in Yiddish, it's called the Gansa Megillah, a big deal. It's, it's the, it, the

costs are higher. The work that needs to be done is more, you know, you have to file monthly cash flow

statements. You have to do open up better in possession accounts. It's a lot of work. And even the

subchapter five chapter 11s, which is supposedly a streamlined 11, are both costly and a lot of work. And

the thing is,90 percent of them don't last out a year. You know, and I have, which is really why you don't

hear about individuals at certain times. Recently, I had the woman with her house in New Hampshire. She

was originally a Chapter 11 because she had more assets and liabilities that then could be filed in a

Chapter 13. And I also represented this couple who their income and their debt was above the Chapter 13

limit because of their student loans. And I had to file a Chapter 11 for them. But, you know, all was not lost

because one of them lost his job and their income got cut in the half. And we cut it, converted it to a

Chapter 7. They got their discharge and life is going on. Because, you know, the only way a Chapter 13

works, you know, if if you have a house, that's a different story. But even then you could sell the house,

pay off the mortgage and be done with it. You know, for individuals, if something dire happens, God forbid,

a medical emergency. I mean, I had one guy, he died before his plan was before he paid four years and

died in his fifth year. And I had never filed a suggestion of death before with the court. And but, you know,

if you lose your job and your income is cut. you know, you don't necessarily have to stay in that 13. And

the other thing I may have forgotten to mention is when we determine whether you're a 7 or a 13

candidate, we look at six months worth of your pay stubs. Income tax return is meaningless. If you can

work less overtime. which sometimes puts people over the Chapter 13, we encourage it because you can

plan to file a bankruptcy. I have people who right now she'd be at Chapter 13, but she's retiring in two

months. Her income's not going to be the same. So why get into it? But it's really, you know, I guess it's

sort of strategy.

TIFFANY GRANT 32:10

I see. And as we're talking, I'm learning more about how these strategies can come into play. Now, I know

when people come to me, one thing they're scared of is how bankruptcies work when it comes to their

credit. So like how long does it actually stay on your credit and what does that mean in practical terms?

BARRY LEVINE 32:30

Sure. Sure. Usually, you know, by the time you're thinking about bankruptcy and hopefully you've stopped

making payments on the credit card companies, your credit, your credit's gone to shit anyway. But you'd

be surprised that I mentioned I keep Kafka on my desk. There's a reason for all of this stuff. People who

go through a chapter seven who make a decent income will get. new credit card solicitations right after,

sometimes before they get their discharge. Because creditors look at post-discharge debtors as a good

credit risk. You make a decent amount of money, they'll give you a $500 credit limit, see what happens,

and you can't file a bankruptcy again for eight years. So what's their real risk? You know, the other thing

lots of people have going for them, if they're continuing to make mortgage payments and car payments,

you know, you know, nowadays it's been a long time since people file a bankruptcy just because, you

know, they charged up. I once had a guy who uses American Express card in Manhattan to buy thirty five

thousand dollars worth of clothes and in three days filed a bankruptcy. And while he was going bankrupt,

he had a new American Express card. that he was using. None of it makes any sense. But the thing is that

they look at you as a good credit risk. And then, of course, there's always, and this is also easier said than

done, I suggest trying to find, develop a relationship with a credit union or a small bank that can look at

you as something more than a FICA score. You know, most people getting back to games players who file

bankruptcy nowadays are people who have catastrophic medical costs not covered by insurance. People

who've lost a job, you know, if you were making $140,000 a year and suddenly you lost the job or

downsized, how do you keep all the balls up in the air and pay your credit cards? You know, unfortunately,

natural people take money out of their 401ks and do shit like that, which is another issue. And, you know,

if all else fails, you know, if you're going to take the kids to Disney World and rent the car, you're not going

to take $2,000 in 20s to have the deposit for the rent-a-car. There are banks offer it. You can find them

online called secured or collateralized credit cards. You know, in fact, if you're… you know, in the position

now where you sort of realize you're shoveling shit against the tide, you'd be better off opening up one of

those. At least it's good money going after new things as opposed to good money going after old things.

And, you know, again, they work the same way. They put the money in a CD or a savings account, then

they give you a line of credit. You don't make the payments, they take your money. Very simple.

TIFFANY GRANT 35:35

Right, right. Now, let me ask you a question. Like if someone is not in crisis right now, but it feels like the

slope is getting slippery, you know, maybe, you know, you've been across the table from a lot of people.

What is the tipping point? Like what do people say, OK, I have to do this now?

BARRY LEVINE 35:56

Well, you know, unfortunately, too many people act like ostriches and figure if they put their head in the

sand, it goes away. If I ignore the notices, it goes away. You know, I remember, you know, as a kid, you

used to love to get mail as an adult. Nobody likes to get mail, but it pays attention to you. You need to pay

attention to what's going on. You know, if somebody is going to sue you, that's going to be left on your

doorstep. You know, if you're getting behind in payments and you're it's difficult, you know, like I said, it

comes down to, you know, what at the end of the week, do you have a hundred dollars left over to put

food on the table and gas in the car? And that's absolute mischigas, insanity. I mean, you know, you really

need to take a look at what your debts are and what you have and what. would be preserved when you file

a bankruptcy. And if it turns out that there is stuff that can be exposed, you have to think about a way to

stop that exposure. And the sooner you do it, the better it is, because, you know, you may know about

Madoff, you know, his bankruptcy and his scheme, they made popular the term clawback. That's nobody

really uses that, but that's the term of art for what's called a fraudulent conveyance. Like I said before, you

know, a month before I can get, you know, I have great examples. Case I took over, he filed the chapter

11. The beginning is a business. The beginning of June, less than two weeks before the filing of the

chapter 11. He failed. He conveyed it from the corporation. He recorded the conveyance out of the

corporation to his mother's trust. Didn't disclose it in the bankruptcy petition because his attorney at the

time thought it didn't have to be. And that's a classic fraudulent conveyance. You've taken an asset and

conveyed it away from your your creditors ability to reach it. You know, getting back to I know I've spoken

about a lot, but, you know, putting friends and family on, you know, giving them collateral early on when

they give the loans, you avoid that situation. It's like the same way, you know, I tell people if they haven't

done that, then you should list them as creditors in your bankruptcy because it's one thing to have a. no

legal obligation to pay friends and family. And if you want to pay them out of the goodness of your heart,

you can always do that. But, you know, again, one of the examples I give is dad marries your stepmother

and your stepmother says, you're no good son. He owes you 50 grand. I want you to collect it. And you

didn't list it in your bankruptcy. Could be a problem. You know, on the other hand, you listed it. And if you

wanted to pay him, you could. If you didn't want to, you had no legal obligation.

TIFFANY GRANT 39:09

Gotcha. Gotcha. Now, I know people probably listening and they're like, OK, this sounds good, Barry, but

what does it cost to file for bankruptcy? Like, can someone be too broke to go bankrupt?

BARRY LEVINE 39:21

Well, what I my charge, I mean, everybody is different. I mean, what I charge is is about twenty five

hundred bucks for a straight chapter seven. There's a filing fee, which is, you know. controlled by the

government is 338. If we have a house to appraise, we pull an appraisal, which the trustees and the courts

use. That's cost 17. And then we pull a credit report. If you're one debtor or a couple, one is 50. A couple

is 100, which gives us all the current information about your creditors, because as you may know, debt is

a commodity. In fact, there used to be a website, if you like to gamble, that you could buy debt in any state

for 10 cents on the dollar. You know, maybe you get 90 percent of people who've gone through

bankruptcy, but you get a few business people who have lots of money. You know, I don't gamble. I only

go to the casino to. eat at the restaurants and go to the spas. But that's, hey, listen, but that's pretty much

it. And like I said, you know, in a perfect world, you'll say, Barry, who do I make the check out to? But I

said, I'm an inveterate cynic and I'm from Brooklyn. There's no such thing as a perfect world. So in order

to retain us and once we've been retained, and I'm assuming most other lawyers do the same thing. Then,

for lack of a better phrase, we jerk your creditors around until you file a case. And to retain us, you pay us

$250. You basically meet with my assistant, Kathy, who would go over everything we need to get to get

your case filed. We only ask that you pay the balance off. You know, people are having financial problems

within six months. We don't charge interest or penalties, but we only file the case when everything is paid.

But in the meantime, you know, if you are inclined to answer the calls nowadays, you know, caller ID,

most people don't. I tell people my mother should only know how lucky she was. There was no caller ID

when she used to call me every Sunday when I was in college in 1971. She kept it up for about 35 years

after caller ID that the tides had turned. And the same thing if you get a letter, you send the letter to me.

You know, if you've gone through all that other stuff with my responses, if you finally get a letter from filing

a bankruptcy, you send it to me and I send them a very nice letter telling I've ever been retained to file a

bankruptcy. Call me back in three months, four months, five months. Whatever amount of time I feel like

that day.

TIFFANY GRANT 42:07

Gotcha. Gotcha. Well, this has been very helpful. And I know you're based in Massachusetts and I know

it's going to vary, you know, wherever people are because.

BARRY LEVINE 42:18

Well, you know, I tell people I not that I can handle cases in other states. I used to do them in New

Hampshire, but it's actually been representing a creditor. I've been to Florida. But. You know, I do answer

emails if people want to email me, you know, certain questions I'd be happy to answer because, again,

you have to look at it as filing of a bankruptcy. It's not the end of the world. You know, its concept is that

fresh start that you're entitled to. And most people do get it. I mean. By hook or by crook.

TIFFANY GRANT 42:58

Gotcha. Well, thank you so much, Barry. And if people were interested in reaching out to you, how could

they do that?

BARRY LEVINE 43:06

It's my email address is Barry. That's a small B at Levine's law, L-E-V-I-N-E-S-L-A-W dot com. Or I think

you can communicate with me on my website, which is W-W-W Levine's law dot com. And if you want to

see some of my podcasts where I rail about other bankruptcy things, it's because I have also written a

book on bankruptcy called Through the Looking Glass. I'm almost ready to retire by the Amazon sales.

You may not see me next time. But my YouTube page is called Bankruptcy Through the Looking Glass.

And, you know, people tell me there's a lot of good information, you know, the debt settlement companies

that have the special program for the guy who's missing his right leg and right arm, you know, there are no

special programs. Don't fall for the bullshit. You get 1099 forgiveness of debt if they settle anything. And

most of the time you wind up paying their monthly fee. And I have had lots of people who fall for it who

wind up filing a bankruptcy. But, you know, there's a lot of good deals out there.

TIFFANY GRANT 44:28

Gotcha. Gotcha. Well, thank you so much. I know that I didn't even get through all the listener questions.

And this episode is probably longer than my usual. So I'm going to have to be back on the show because I

still have more questions. But thank you so much.

BARRY LEVINE 44:44

Tiffany, I would love to, you know, I can say, have your people talk to me.

TIFFANY GRANT 44:49

Right. But thank you so much, Barry. And with that.

BARRY LEVINE 44:54

Stay well, everybody. I've enjoyed myself.

TIFFANY GRANT 44:58

All right. Bye.

INTRO/OUTRO 45:00

Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with Tiff podcast this week. You can

check Tiff out every Thursday for a new Money Talk podcast. But if you just can't wait until next week, you

can listen to previous podcast episodes at MoneyTalkWithT. com or follow Tiff on all social media

platforms at Money Talk with T. Until next time, spend wise by spending less than you make. A word to the

money wise is always sufficient.