Bankruptcy

The two types of bankruptcy we practice are chapter 7 and chapter 13. To keep it simple, chapter 7 is a liquidating bankruptcy and chapter 13 is a non-liquidating bankruptcy.

In a chapter 7 you will be able to discharge all of your debts without paying anything back. However, if you have any equity in anything (your home, your car, your bank account, your boat- anything) you must surrender it to the bankruptcy trustee (the person who looks out for the creditors) so that it can be sold (liquidated) to pay back the creditors to the largest extent possible. Equity is what determines which chapter of bankruptcy you can file under. Fair Market Value minus Amount Owed equals Your Equity in anything.

A chapter 13 is a non-liquidating bankruptcy. This means you get to keep everything but you have to pay back a percentage of your equity. It is also used for people who are in foreclosure or behind on their mortgage and in fear of foreclosure. A chapter 13 requires a payback plan from between three to five years. The payment is monthly. The amount is determined, again, by the amount of equity you have accumulated in your life. This is referred to as your bankruptcy estate. Obviously, everyone wants to do a chapter 7 because it is no pay back. However, since 2005 it has become much harder to file chapter 7. In 2005, legislation was passed which tightened up the income restrictions on people with regard to the Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The intended result was that more people must file under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy code and pay back, at least, what the government thinks they can afford.

Our job is to advise you which is the best chapter to file under. It is our job to make sure you keep your home, your car, and everything else you have accumulated throughout your life.

It is our job to stop the creditors from harassing you, protect you from lawsuits, garnishments, and to put you back on your feet and give you a fresh start in life.

Criminal Defense

We defend people with regard to the following crimes:

Driving Under The Influence:

We have extensive experience defending people for DUI. Mr. Biales made landmark law in the case of The State of Ohio v. Brocco in which he was able to overturn Mr. Brocco’s conviction for DUI in the Eleventh District of Ohio Court of Appeals because prosecutors would not turn over crucial evidence with regard to the calibration of the breathalyzer. This case is widely cited throughout the State of Ohio for prosecutorial misconduct involving the failure to turn over evidence by prosecutors.

We will focus on keeping you out of jail (or minimizing jail time), getting you temporary driving privileges for work, child care, medical treatment, school, and household maintenance, and getting your vehicle released from impound (if necessary).

Drug Crimes (including but not limited to Possession, Trafficking and Intent to Distribute):

We have proven techniques to minimize or eliminate jail. In some cases, we are able to avoid convictions altogether. We often work with professionals (including but not limited to physicians, lawyers, nurses, teachers, police officers, government officials) to avoid license revocation.

We handle all levels of felony or misdemeanor drug crimes.

Assault, Domestic Violence, Theft (and theft related crimes such as robbery, falsification etc.)

Our job is to keep you out of jail and attempt to avoid the conviction altogether, if possible.

Personal Injury and Medical Negligence

We handle the following types of Personal Injury Cases:

Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Trucking Accidents, ATV accidents, Medical Negligence, Wrongful Death, Defective Products and any other type of accident in which you have been seriously injured by the mistake or negligence of another.

We take the cases strictly on a contingency basis. This means that we only get paid if we win. We also forward all the expenses, no matter how much. Our clients will never be asked to give us any money for any reason at any time until we win their case. If we don’t win money for the client we don’t get paid for our services and we will eat our expenses.

We have a team of lawyers and specialists to handle any matter no matter how large or complex. We have a working relationship with some of the top personal injury attorneys in the state with regard to Trucking, ATV and Motorcycle Accidents and Defective Product Injury. If we feel something is beyond our expertise we will hire a specialist at no additional cost to the client. We will pay that professional out of our contingency fee (or out of our pocket if no money is recovered for the client).

We also have a team of accident reconstructionists, physicians, nurses, engineers, and other professionals who we have on call to help us if needed. Again, at no charge to the client until we win money.

We are happy to come to your home or hospital to meet with you for a free, no obligation consultation.

Civil Matters

We handle the following types of Civil Matters:

Business Breach of Contract:

These are cases in which businesses have failed to honor their contract which has caused you a substantial loss of money or property. We take these cases on contingency (we don’t get paid unless you collect) so long as the damages to you exceed twenty five thousand dollars.

Negligence:

Cases in which the negligence of another has caused you a substantial loss of money or property. These cases are taken on contingency.

Class Actions:

Cases in which a large business is damaging lots of people in the same way and you are one of those people. It may be a large company who is cheating lots of people for small amounts of money. Call to determine if you qualify for compensation. These cases are taken on contingency.

Foreclosure Defense:

You have been wrongfully foreclosed upon or you have not been wrongfully foreclosed upon. We can usually keep you in your home either way.

Consumer Fraud:

You have been cheated by fraudulent billing, bait and switch, misrepresentation of a product or service, or any other unfair and deceptive business practice.

Divorce, Custody

Our philosophy toward divorce and custody clients is one of compassion and understanding. We are aware that people’s children are the most important thing in their lives. We will always put the best interest of the children first. Our top priority is making sure our clients children are in a safe, secure and happy environment.

We also know that for most of our clients a divorce is the most psychologically traumatic and emotionally painful event that they have ever experienced.  We are aware that people are heartbroken and despondent during this period of their lives and we pledge to help and comfort them through this time. We are available twenty four hours a day to take calls and will protect and stand up for their (and their children’s) rights when they are too run down (or depressed) to do so themselves.

There is no such thing as an easy divorce or custody dispute. But the process can be undertaken with mutual respect, understanding, compassion and an open mind to do what is ultimately in the parties and minor children’s best interests. At Biales Delchin we believe that how you end a marriage is very important for the parties and children. Our goal is to help our clients end the marriage with dignity and to secure for them a maximum advantage for starting over and regaining their independence and peace of mind.
Biales Delchin handles divorce, custody, divorce mediation, dissolution, and post decree modification (when you are brought back to court after the divorce has been finalized.) We can usually file an emergency motion for custody within twenty four hours from initial client contact.  Depending on the case, it is not unusual to get a court order temporarily changing custody within seventy two hours.

Robert C. Biales is our lead divorce attorney with nineteen years of experience and hundreds of divorce trials. Formerly, for over fourteen years he served as a Magistrate for the Painesville Municipal Court. Mr. Biales is the firm’s senior partner and our attorney for divorce and custody issues. 

Dissolution:
Through the process of dissolution we can often dissolve a marriage within ninety days at a fraction of the cost of a divorce.  Biales Delchin also offers divorce mediation for people who are able to work together to resolve the issues of finalizing a divorce. Mediation is a process in which a professional attorney mediator works with both people to help them agree to resolve the issues such as division of property, debt and pension, the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities and all other issues without trial and formal discovery (finding evidence). Mediation can result in savings of thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to the parties and eliminate the stress, resentment, fear, pain and emotional turmoil of divorce litigation and trial.

Juvenile Law

At Biales Delchin we handle all juvenile law matters. These matters include criminal defense for minors who have been charged with misdemeanors or felonies. Moreover, we provide legal representation to parents who have been charged with dependency, neglect or abuse.

The only way an unwed parent can ensure that the other parent does not take the children away is through the establishment of parental rights through the juvenile court. We can establish parental rights, responsibilities and child support for unwed parents.  The establishment and allocation of parental rights and responsibilities must be done at the first sign that an unwed couple with children is considering going their separate ways. By doing this, the parent can ensure that she or he will maintain legal control over the possession of the children and their whereabouts.

We also represent parents on behalf of minors who have been injured by the negligence of another or who have been (or are being) victimized by sexual abuse.

Business Law and Litigation

Biales Delchin handles all business matters such as establishing and maintaining limited liability companies and incorporations. We also defend businesses from lawsuits by employees, creditors, customers and all others. If you are a business that is being threatened with a lawsuit we often times are able to settle the claim for a marginal sum prior to the initiation of a civil suit, thereby, saving the business owner substantial money.

We offer a service by which our attorneys evaluate claims being threatened and advise business owners as to the real monetary extent of liability and the probability of success of the suit. Most threatened business claims when analyzed under the law fall far short of the potential for actual success.

We are able to provide business owners with claim valuation assessments for a moderate fee. If there is no insurance coverage for the claim, the business will know the bottom line on its financial exposure. Our analysis is based on the law and what other cases with similar fact patterns are being settled for in the business’ region.

Many times claims are evaluated before they are disclosed to the liability carrier.  Oftentimes, this will result in significant premium savings. Most importantly, the business owner will have a true indicator of the actual monetary risk they are exposed to.

In the event the business is actually sued we can litigate aggressively in defense of the business for fees far more reasonable than larger firms without sacrificing experience, professionalism, resources or results.

In cases where the business is unable to collect a large account receivable or feels that it has been aggrieved by a breach of contract or other wrong we can help. Often we will take those cases on a contingency basis and even forward the expenses. We only take a fee if we are successful in collecting money for the business.

Estate Planning

Wills, Trusts, Power of Attorney, Transfer on Death deeds:

Our emphasis is on providing ways for you to protect your family after your death at a minimal cost. We focus on extremely affordable estate plans to help our clients avoid probate altogether. Probate, which is the process of having your property distributed through the court, is time consuming, expensive (Usually you have to hire an attorney) and is largely unnecessary. With a little planning now (i.e. while you are alive) we can save your family thousands of dollars (maybe more depending upon the size of your estate and provide you with the peace of mind of knowing they are protected.

We can come to your home, the hospital or nursing home if you or your loved one is not able to come to our office.