Tough economic times make us think about escape by filing bankruptcy. Bankruptcy offers a straight forward, predictable and immediate solution. But to get full measure of bankruptcy relief, you need to know which problems bankruptcy solves and when the time is best to file. Which problems bankruptcy solves Bankruptcy deals with debt, with the outflow […]
California Only Middling In Protecting Families From Debt Collectors
When it comes to protecting working families from debt collectors, California gets a B, according to a study of state exemption laws conducted by NCLC. That’s up from the C it got in the last survey. No state got an A in the study: Utah, Alabama, New Jersey, Tennessee and Michigan rated F’s. State exemption laws […]
What Your Bankruptcy Lawyer Can’t Tell You
Replace your car before filing bankruptcy. That’s a secret, just between us. Bankruptcy “reform” in 2005 tried in a number of ways to discredit and gag lawyers trying to help debtors. One of those additions to the Bankruptcy Code prohibits lawyers from advising those filing bankruptcy to incur new debt. The statute makes no distinction […]
California Gets New Homestead
The California Legislature enacted a dramatic increase to the state’s homestead law at the very end of the legislative session in August. It became effective January 1, 2021. The dollar amount of the homestead increased to a minimum of $300,000 and a maximum of $600,000. Gone is the link between marital status or dependents. Every […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: J For Justify
J stands for Justify in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Or rather, it stands for “no need to Justify” your decision to file bankruptcy. Those considering bankruptcy imagine the first meeting of creditors as an inquisition by the trustee. They fear that they will have to justify their choice of bankruptcy and that the trustee could disallow […]
Bankruptcy Discharge vs. Dismissal
Dismissed and discharged. In a bankruptcy case, these two terms are at the opposite ends of the scale of results in bankruptcy. Yet they are often confused. A discharge is a win! The bankruptcy discharge order wipes out your personal legal liability to pay a debt. A dismissal is usually a loss. It means the […]
Feds Offer Deferral Option For Home Mortgage Payments
Homeowners with federally backed mortgage loans got a lifeline for payments skipped under COVID 19 home loan forbearance agreements. The feds have mandated that servicers offer deferral as one way to repay those payments that came due while the loan was in forbearance. Deferral results in the missed payments being added to the back end […]
Cutting The Car Loan Down To Size
Bankruptcy can strip down what you’re paying on your car loan to just the bare essentials, saving you bundles. Consider my client whose car loan balance was grossly inflated to the point that she owed twice the value of her car, bought just a year ago. Before bankruptcy “reform”, she could have stripped the loan […]
Better To Live With Debts Than File Bankruptcy?
Locked up in debt? What are the consequences of bankruptcy? Or, is it better to live with your debt and keep making minimum payments? Does life get better or worse if you file bankruptcy? That question sums up most people’s fears about shedding their debt through bankruptcy. What will life be like, after bankruptcy? Good questions. […]
When Debt Collectors Won’t Stop, Despite Bankruptcy
Get a collection notice after you’ve filed bankruptcy and after you’ve gotten a discharge, and it’s easy to be distressed. You’ve taken the hard step to get a fresh start, and it appears not to have worked. It’s easy to assume that the collector has a right to its money. Easy, too, to assume your […]
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