We are self employed and I was wondering if paying my yellow page advertising bill will be considered "preferential"?

No, unless your business partner or a family member owns the yellow pages advertising company, it isn't a preferential payment. Paying your Mom is preferential, paying the business operating expenses is not. Hope this perspective helps!

If you paid more than $600 to them within 90 days prior to filing your bankruptcy case, it is likely a preferential payment. However, it is most likely not "avoidable" (recoverable) by a Trustee because there are numerous preference exceptions that would apply. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991. He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.

I hope you have hired an attorney to file your case for you. As owners of a small business there is much at risk. People lose things in bankruptcy. Knowing how to plan and how to protect as much as possible is an attorney's job. If you have an attorney then he or she will advise you about how to deal with your advertising and your vendors. If you don't have an attorney, you should!

You are wise to consider if paying certain creditors before filing would be a preference. Payments made within 90 days to creditors, are preferences, such as to unrelated yellow page advertising. As my colleague has said, there are exceptions to preferences, and the facts are important to determine. Your better approach is to review this, and many other options that could be examined, with an experienced bankruptcy attorney, so that any pre-bankruptcy planning can be accomplished, depending on your particular circumstances.

DO NOT TRY THIS ON YOUR OWN. If you file and your business is not incorporated the bankruptcy Trustee WILL CLOSE YOUR BUSINESS. There are a lot of newbie attorneys who do not have a clue on this. There are ways this might be avoided but it is complicated and takes time before the case is filed. Do not pay anyone anything before you get a highly trained and respected bankruptcy specialist. I do not know if he would handle a case that would be heard in Fresno but Mark Markus out of LA. Attempting to do a bankruptcy while running a business and doing your own brain surgery have one thing in common. Neither turns out well.