We got a call about three o’clock the other afternoon from someone who wanted to come in that afternoon and file bankruptcy that day. When my partner hesitated, the caller responded, “Well , you are open now aren’t you?” I had a mental image of one of those parking lot, drive up coffee vendors, selling […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: F is for First
In my Bankruptcy Alphabet, F is for First meeting of creditors. Lots of rumors exist about the first meeting; it garners a level of notoriety that it cannot sustain on closer look. Let’s check it out. The first meeting of creditors is often the only time a debtor has to appear in public in connection […]
Discharged Debts Don’t Bar Chapter 20 Lien Strip
Underwater liens that linger after an earlier bankruptcy don’t count in Chapter 13. At least, they don’t count against the unsecured debt limit that restricts entry into Chapter 13, says the 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel in Free. Great news for homeowners for whom Chapter 13 was not initially available because they exceeded the debt limits. […]
Four Essential Habits For Successful Entreprenuership
Starting out in business for yourself? Congratulations. Small business, and businesses that were once small, form the tapestry of our economy. I’ve run my own small business for coming 40 years and my favorite clients in my business are other small business people. But, in the euphoria and exhaustion of starting up, don’t put off doing […]
Couple Beats Big Banks Who Ignored Bankruptcy Discharge
A couple of banks found out that it’s expensive to ignore the bankruptcy discharge. For a change, money will flow from banks to my clients. Because even a bank can’t just do business as usual when their borrower files bankruptcy. Equally important, the judge recognized, in dollars, the emotional costs to debtors when their discharge is ignored. […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: Y is for Yoke
Y, in my Bankruptcy Alphabet, stands for Yoke. Debt is a yoke around the neck of a person. It keeps him harnessed to the weight of past financial decisions and, sometimes, to events over which he had no control. There are times in life when the right course is to put your shoulder to […]
Your Home Is Not A Piggy Bank
Right before the Great Recession, lenders, main stream and fly-by-night, urged us to “tap the equity in your home for what you want today”. California home values were rising. Credit was easy. And we always want something more, don’t we. We need to remember those days, because those sales pitches are back. Back on the radio and […]
Essential Tasks After Bankruptcy To Maximize Your Fresh Start
Got your bankruptcy discharge recently? The end of the bankruptcy case is the start of your new financial life. Now, you’ve got work to do to maximize that fresh start. Save your bankruptcy papers The bankruptcy schedules listed everyone you owed money to when you filed. Those creditors got notice of your case. The […]
What Asset of Failed Business Is Most Valuable?
Usually I rant about mistakes clients made when they incorporated their ongoing business. Come hard times for the business, those mistakes eat into our options for the owners survival when the corporation goes down. Invariably, the vendor accounts remain in the name of the proprietor, the stock may not have been issued, and it’s unclear whether there was an […]
Why I Hate Credit Reporting Agencies
If you have a couple of hours, I’ll count the ways. But this morning, it’s half truths and moralizing by Experian that gets me going. My fellow California bankruptcy lawyer Jay Fleischman published Experian’s explanation of how long your bankruptcy filing stays on your credit record. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is deleted seven years from the […]
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