Physicians Practice - March 2008 - (Page 69)

fraud or criminal wrongdoing, all debts are discharged,” says Borders. Creditors must accept what they’re given in the settlement, and they can’t come after you personally. “They’re going to take your desks and chairs and medical equipment,” she says, “but you can put it all behind you and get a fresh start.” Chapter 11 is completely different. Rather than a legal “do-over,” Chapter 11 protects you from your creditors and gives you time to reorganize your business so it can become less stressful for those at a more advanced stage of their careers. Chapter 11 reorganization might take one or two years to complete, but the restructured debt program could be a decade or more. However, by ﬁling Chapter 11, Yonkosky can perhaps hold onto her dream of focusing solely on wound care. Going back to working in a group will certainly cut into the autonomy that she so values. Also, the loan Yonkosky secured on the family farm to help pay the practice’s bills is NO SHAME “[Bankruptcy] used to have a moral stigma 20, 25 years ago. But Texaco, Delta, United, Bloomingdale’s — all of them have been through bankruptcy.” personal, and therefore would not be discharged with the LLC’s bankruptcy ﬁling. Chapter 11 gives the gift of time to call in the experts and devise an action plan. “You have, generally, up to 18 months to put your plan together. During that time, you’ll have to continue to pay the rent and some payment on the secured debt,” says Turner. Other important issues trickle out of ﬁling for bankruptcy, such as the effect on one’s credit score. A frank and thorough discussion with an attorney who specializes in bankruptcy is well worth the money for Yonkosky, to help determine the fate of North Georgia Institute for Wound Care. In the end, she must weigh her desire to do what she loves against the reality that she may not have succeeded — at least not this time. We wish her the very best of luck. Sarah Borders, attorney sustainable. One part of this reorganization involves debt negotiation. Here, Turner says, someone will deal directly with your creditors to try to renegotiate the terms of the debt so that you can pay a reduced amount, get a lower interest rate, and/or stretch out the length of the loan. The negotiator may also be able to get your debt “backend-loaded,” meaning the debt is restructured so that you pay less at ﬁrst, with payment amounts increasing over time. This alleviates a great deal of pressure to honor the terms of the debt when you’re short of cash. Backend-loading debt could be a viable solution for Yonkosky, who is optimistic about her practice growing — and therefore, more money coming in — but she needs time for this to happen. WHICH WAY? Both types of bankruptcy have merit. Borders says that a simple Chapter 7 liquidation, and a plan to return to work in a group practice — without the constant worry about the business end of things — might prove WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM • Shirley Grace is a senior writer for Physicians Practice. She can be reached at sgrace@physicianspractice.com. MARCH 2008 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | 69 http://doctordirectory.com http://www.ddsignup.com http://doctordirectory.com http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - March 2008

Physicians Practice - March 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Try a Little Tenderness Second Opinion Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: The Value of First Impressions Noteworthy Cover Story: Your Complete Guide to Patient Service Billings & Collections: Rules to Code By The Administrators Desk: Selecting an EMR Technology: Learn to Love Your Nerd Ask The Experts Coding The Guide The Tech Doctor: All About Blogs The Great Practice Makeover: When Bad Things Happen to Good Practices Start It Up - NEW! The Law: Audits 101 In Practice: Do As I Say... Pretty Please? Healthonomics: Handling the Changes Wrought by Medicare D Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - March 2008

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