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294 Best Case Bankruptcy for Windows
User’s Guide
The Setup Menu
You can only access the Setup Menu when the Client List Window is closed. If you have any entry screens open,
close them, close the Forms and Schedules Menu, then close the Client List Window before trying to access the
Setup Menu.
With the Client List Window closed, click on the third menu item labeled
“
Setup
”
or press
aA-s
.
The Setup Menu contains settings that don’t vary by case, such as the law firm name, jurisdictio
n settings, the zip
code database for the AddressHelper, your macro phrase list, Common Creditor List, etc. If you went through the
Setup Wizard when you installed the program, there is nothing you need to fill out in the Setup Menu. However, you
may occasionally want to change some of the settings. The Setup Menu contains the following sections, each of
which is described in detail below:
Law Firm Information: The name and address of the firm to whom the program is registered. This will
appear on the Voluntary Petition for all cases. (See page 295.)
Attorney Names: The name(s) of the attorney(s) who will appear on petitions as the attorney representing
the debtor. (See page 295.)
Jurisdictions: The jurisdictions where the firm files cases. Jurisdiction settings include many options that
vary by jurisdiction but not by case, such as the format of the creditor address list (mailing matrix), the
forms that apply and the order of forms, miscellaneous printing options that may vary by district or user
preference, which exemption tables apply, Electronic Case Filing settings, and Chapter 13 Plan options
such as treatment classes and percentage paid to the trustee if this program includes Chapter 13. (See page
296.)
Exemption Tables: The exemption statutes for all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico are provided by Best
Case Solutions but can be edited and updated by the user through the Setup Menu. (See page 311.)
Non-Attorney Preparer Information: Information about the petition preparer if a non-attorney is
preparing forms for the debtor. (See page 314.)
Common Creditor List: Described on page 69, the Common Creditor List allows you to build a directory
of creditors that you encounter frequently. Typically, you will build your Common Creditor List as you
enter cases, accessing it through creditor schedules, but you can access it through the Setup Menu as well.
If you have previously used Best Case
Bankruptcy for DOS, Collier’s TopForm
™
for DOS by Matthew
Bender, or Chap7..13 Typeset version for DOS by West Group, you can import your Common Creditor
List from your previous program. (See page 277.)
Macro Phrase List: The Macro Phrase feature allows you to define your own shortcut keys. (See page
320.)
Zip Code Lookup List: The Zip Code Lookup List is part of the AddressHelper feature. As you type in
address data, the AddressHelper fills in the city and state when you enter the zip code using this zip code
database. (See page 260.)
Preferences: Allows you to set miscellaneous options, including preferences for the Attorney
Compensation Statement. (See page 314.)
Setup Wizard: Prompts you for information about your firm, attorney names, and jurisdictions. Usually,
you would go through the Setup Wizard before adding any new cases, but you can access it any time
through the Setup Menu. (See page 20.)
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The Setup Menu 295
Law firm information
If you ran the Setup Wizard when you installed Best Case Bankruptcy, this section will already be filled in. The law
firm name will appear for all cases on the Voluntary Petition, and does not need to be entered again. If your office
moves or the name changes, you can update the law firm information at any time.
1. In the Setup Menu under
“
Law Firm Information,
”
enter the name of the law firm then press
T
to get to the next
field. Enter the address of the firm, pressing
T
each time you need to get to the next field. If you need to go
backwards, press
S
-
T
to get to the previous field. If you are a sole practitioner, you’ll generally want to enter
“
<your name>, Attorney at Law
”
or
“
<your name>, P.A.
”
instead of just your name, since in some places on the
forms both the attorney name and the firm name will print.
2. Enter the telephone and fax numbers of the law firm, if desired. The e-mail address is used in certain local
forms for districts participating in electronic case filing programs. Click OK when you have finished.
Please let us know if your firm moves so that we may update our records! For your protection,
for us to update our records, a Change of Registration form must be completed if the law firm
name or contact person changes.
Attorney names
The Attorney Names section of the Setup Menu stores names that you can choose for each case as the attorney
representing the debtor. To add or edit attorney names:
Close the Client List Window and click on Setup in the Main Menu, then click Attorney Names.
You will get a window with several buttons at the bottom. This is a list screen which will list all attorney names that
you enter as pictured below.
If there is just one attorney name entered in the Setup Menu, this name will automatically be selected on the
Voluntary Petition.
List of Attorney Choices in the Setup Menu
1. Click Add to add an attorney name.
2.
Type the attorney’s name as you want it to appear on forms.
Adding an Attorney Signer Choice
The tilde character
appears before the state
bar number if the state bar
number is to appear just
on the Voluntary Petition.
Click to add an
attorney
The attorney names you
enter in the Setup Menu
will appear in a drop-down
list when you enter
information on the
Voluntary Petition.
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296 Best Case Bankruptcy for Windows
User’s Guide
3.
You can add the attorney’s state bar registration number if you want it to print on the signature line of the
Voluntary Petition. If you want the state bar number to appear on all attorney signature lines throughout the
filing, put a checkmark in the box marked
“
Always print state bar number with attorney name.
”
4. Click OK when you have entered the name.
5. You can then add another attorney name by clicking Add again, typing in a second attorney name, then clicking
OK.
6. When you have finished, click Close.
7.
If you edited an existing attorney’s name, go back into the Filing Information section of the Voluntary Petition
and reselect the attorney to register your changes for this case.
Attorney’s name on both pages of the Voluntary Petition
: Changes to the Official Forms by
the Administrative Offices of the U.S. Courts effective March 1998 removed the attorney’s
name from the firs
t page of the Voluntary Petition but kept the attorney’s name on the second
page. In response to customer and court requests, we’ve added an option that allows you to
print the attorney name on both the first and second pages of the Voluntary Petition. See
Jurisdictions: Miscellaneous Options on page 305.
Jurisdictions
The jurisdiction section of the Setup Menu contains settings that vary by district and settings that are a matter of
personal preference. Included in the jurisdiction section is the name of each district you’ll be filing in and, for each
district, the set of exemption statutes that apply, the forms that apply to each type of case, the format of the creditor
address matrix, miscellaneous printing options, electronic filing options, and the 13 Plan Setup.
Installing Jurisdictions
When you run the Setup Wizard after installing Best Case Bankruptcy, you can install as many jurisdictions as you
need. If you later find you need additional jurisdictions, you can easily install them:
1. Close any entry screens that are open, then close the Forms and Schedules Menu.
2. Close the Client List Window.
3. Click on Setup in the Main Menu bar, then click Jurisdictions. A list of all jurisdictions that have already
been installed appears.
4. Click the Install New Jurisdiction button in the bottom left corner.
5. A list of jurisdictions appears. Highlight the name of the one you want to install and click Select.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each jurisdiction you want to install, then click Close.
Some settings for your district are pre-defined in Best Case Bankruptcy
The format of the creditor mailing matrix and the set of exemption statutes that apply in your state are installed with
your program. You may need to add the trustee’s name or other names to the matrix; see your local rules for
specifications.
You can change the format of the creditor mailing matrix at any time through the jurisdictions section of the setup
menu. See
“
Jurisdiction: matrix (Creditor Mailing List) setup
“
beginning on page 301.
Other settings are defined by the user
Your jurisdiction comes with standard settings for the 13 Plan Setup, (which defines treatment classes and
miscellaneous options), and standard settings for various printing options, such as whether to include questions 19-
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Chapter 10
The Setup Menu 297
25 on the Statement of Financial Affairs for all debtors or just debtors engaged in business, whether to print separate
exemption schedules for joint debtors, and more. You can change any of these settings at any time.
Editing Jurisdiction Settings
Since some rules vary by division within a jurisdiction, and since local rules are subject to change, this section
describes ways to alter the jurisdiction settings. If you want to make adjustments for rules that vary within a district
by division or chapter of filing, or want the division names to appear in the form caption, see Defining settings for
divisions within a district on page 310 .
To get into the Setup Menu:
1. Close the Client List Window.
2. Click on Setup in the Main Menu.
3. Click the Jurisdictions option. You will see a list of all installed jurisdictions, as pictured below. (If you
do not see your jurisdiction listed, install the Jurisdiction as described on page 296.)
Shortcut to Edit Jurisdiction File: With a client file open, you can edit the jurisdiction file by
returning to the Forms and Schedules Menu and clicking Setup/Edit Case Jurisdiction or by
pressing
C
-
S
-
J
.
Jurisdictions Screen in Setup Menu
4. Highlight your jurisdiction and click the Edit button. The basic information screen appears as pictured below.
Jurisdiction Section of the Setup Menu
The name of the district
as it will appear in the
caption on printed
forms.
Click to copy the
settings of this
jurisdiction to a
new jurisdiction.
This refers to the set of
state exemption
statutes that apply in
this district.
Click to edit the
settings for the
highlighted
Click to delete the highlighted
If your state is a
community property state,
check this box so that “C”
is the default answer for
the person responsible for
the debt on each creditor
entry in joint cases.
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298 Best Case Bankruptcy for Windows
User’s Guide
Basic Information Tab
Jurisdiction Name
This is the name of the district as it will print on forms. If you want the division name to print as well, you can insert
the cursor after the district name and type in the division name.
You can also add non-printing comments to the name which are for your reference only by inserting a tilde character
(~). Any text after the tilde will not print. This may be useful if you have defined separate matrix settings for
separate trustees or types of cases, and want to differentiate between districts when selecting them. The tilde is
generally found to the left of the number 1 on the keyboard.
Exemption Choices
The State Exemption Table should be filled in for you, but can be changed by selecting from the drop-down list.
This is the state exemption table that will be associated with the jurisdiction.
The choice to
Use Debtor’s Address State for exemption table
allows you to override the usual state exemption
table with the exemption laws from the debtor’s state of residence. If you check this option, then create a file for a
debtor who lives in Kentucky but is filing in Tennessee, the Kentucky exemptions will be available in Schedule C
even though the Tennessee district will appear in the caption on forms.
If federal bankruptcy exemptions under 11 U.S.C. § 522(d) are permitted in this state, make sure this choice is
marked. If the federal exemptions are permitted, then for each case you will have the choice of selecting either state
or federal exemptions in the Filing Information section of the Voluntary Petition. If this box isn’t checked, the state
exemption table will always be selected for each case. Check the Default for new cases box if you want Best Case
to default to federal exemptions for all new cases in this district.
Community property state
If this option is checked, then for each creditor that you enter, the question of who is responsible for the debt
defaults to
“
Community.
”
(This question only applies to joint debtors.)
Jurisdiction is obsolete and cannot be assigned to new cases.
Use this option if you have old cases that rely on this jurisdiction file but no longer want to assign it to new cases.
The most common application of this would be for districts for which we have added custom chapter 13 plans and
plan classes, requiring new jurisdi
ction files. For new cases, you’
d want to use the new Chapter 13 plan and plan
classes, but for old cases, you’
d want to use the old file so that you
don’t
have to reassign plan classes to each
creditor.
Judge and Trustee Lists
The judge and trustee lists allow you to maintain a database of judges and trustees for each jurisdiction in which you
file. Use these lists to store the names, addresses, phone numbers and other information for any judge or trustee to
whom one of your clients may be assigned. When you assign a judge or trustee to a client file, Best Case can use the
contact information you entered to fill out any forms which may require judge or trustee information.
Note that you assign the judge or trustee to client in the File Setup Information tab of the Client Notes
screen as described on page 266 .
Adding a Judge or Trustee to your list:
1. Click the "Edit Judge list for Jurisdiction..." button or the "Edit Trustee list for Jurisdiction..." button.
2. Click the Insert button in the Judge/Trustee List screen that opens.
3. Fill in the name, and all of the applicable contact information in the spaces provided.
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The Setup Menu 299
4. Trustee Payment Address: Use the Payment Address tab to enter a separate payment address for any
trustees you enter. To make the payment address the same as the general address click the "Copy General
Address" button.
5. Click OK to save your changes and return to the Judge/Trustee list screen.
Jurisdiction Forms List
The Jurisdiction Forms List allows you to select and reorder the documents that appear in the Forms and Schedules
Menu. Since the list of forms or order of forms varies by jurisdiction, this setting is stored in the Jurisdictions
section of your Setup Menu. Note that if you file in multiple jurisdictions, you may want to customize these settings
for each jurisdiction.
To access the Jurisdiction Forms List:
1. With a client file open, press
C
-
S
-
J
from the Forms and Schedules Menu then skip to step 5, or -
2. Close the Client List Window.
3. Click Setup in the main menu, then click Jurisdictions.
4. Highlight the name of the first jurisdiction you want to change then click the Edit button.
5. Click the Edit Forms List button.
The Edit Jurisdiction Form List window appears. The forms that appear in your Forms and Schedules Menu appear
on the left side, in the order that they will appear in the Forms and Schedules Menu. The list of possible forms to add
to the Forms and Schedules Menu appears on the right side.
To Reorder Forms:
On the left side of the Jurisdiction Form List, highlight the form you want to move then click the Up or the Down
button. Each time you click, the form is moved up or down in the list one slot. Continue to click until it is in the
desired position.
To Remove a Form from Your Forms and Schedules Menu
Highlight the form on the left side of the screen then click the Remove>> button.
To Add a Form to Your Forms and Schedules Menu
Highlight the desired form on the right side of the screen and click the <<Add button. Note that some custom forms
are in the Local Forms section at the bottom of the list. For certain custom forms, such as local versions of the
Verification of Creditor Matrix, you’ll need to remove the standard version before adding the custom one.
Note that you cannot add forms of your own creation to the Forms and Schedules Menu. To add custom
Word or WordPerfect documents, see Additional Documents Library on page 206.
Supplemental Forms
The supplemental forms folder in the Jurisdiction Forms List is for forms that you file occasionally but not with
every case. Forms in your Supplemental Forms folder will appear at the bottom of your Forms and Schedules Menu
in a special Supplemental Forms section.
When you mark a
ll of a client’s forms to print, forms in the Supplemental Forms section will
NOT be marked. You
can print the supplemental forms by marking them individually. To put a form in the Supplemental folder, the form
first needs to be in your Jurisdiction Forms
List. If it isn’t, add it per the instructions above. If the form is in the
Jurisdiction Forms list, highlight it then click the Down button until the form appears under the words
“
Supplemental Forms.
”
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300 Best Case Bankruptcy for Windows
User’s Guide
To move a form from the Supplemental Forms folder to the main Forms and Schedules Menu, highlight it and click
the Up button until it appears above the words
“
Supplemental Forms.
”
To Specify that a Form Should/Should Not Appear for a Given Type of Case
To give you added flexibility, you can specify that a form should or should not appear for a given type of case in
Best Case Bankruptcy. It is not common that you would want to change these settings, but if you do: Highlight the
form on the left side of the window and click the Edit button. A grid appears that allows you to specify that a form
should or should not be included for each chapter of filing and type of debtor.
The Update Jurisdiction Form window lets you specify which types of cases each form applies to
The column on the left side refers to the type of debtor and the headings across the top refer to the chapter of filing.
If you want a form to appear for a certain type of case, put a check mark in the box that corresponds to the chapter of
filing and type of debtor. If you don’t want a form to appear for a given type of case, remove the checkmark from
the corresponding box.
To Change the Title of a Form
Highlight the form on the left side of the window and click the Edit
button. You’ll notice that there is a Form Title
and a Print Title. The form title just refers to the way the form is listed in the Forms and Schedules Menu. The print
title refers to the way the title prints on the forms. Make your changes then click OK. Note that for the Voluntary
Petition and certain custom local forms, you won’t be able to change the form title.
Form Preferences
Some forms, like the Chapter 13 Plan, have Form Preferences that allow you to change printing options specific to
the form. For a list of options having to do with the form being edited, click the Preferences button which appears
in the lower left corner of the Update Jurisdiction Form window pictured above.
Print as QuickForm to Allow Editing Before Printing
Highlight the form on the left side of the window and click the Edit button. If this form is available in RTF format,
you’ll see a check box labeled “
Print as QuickForm to Allow Editing Before Printing.
”
If this option is checked,
whenever you print this document it will appear in the Best Case Editor so that you can add text or answers. If this
option is not checked, the document will just be sent to your printer when you print it and you will need to click the
Edit Form button in the Print Documents dialog window in order to edit it.
This option only appears for documents included as RTF files. Currently, this includes certain supplemental and
local forms but not most Official Forms and Schedules. By def
ault, we’ve checked this option for documents that
require information not collected in Best Case since you would generally want to fill this information in before
printing.
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
