Permission errors - got a fancy script anyone?

I don't know how many people run into this - but when transfering files the permissions often get changed such that server cannot open a file. My most recent circumstance of this involves server 5.5 on the latest X-serve using ssh to remotely access the machine. I needed to move a file to my local drive to make some password changes. I moved it back by uploading it to the web, ssh'ing into the server, using ftp to download it to the proper directory. Server couldn't open it because the owner had been changed to the ssh account login (not the same as the profile the sever had booted on). I was able to check the permissions and fix it - using chmod - and other group/owner variotions. I'm wondering if anyones written any handy script to quickly rectify files - I know you can always jump to the command line and recursively fix a whole directory - but sometimes I want a little more finess.