Despite BAPCPA, the 2005 “reform” that made bankruptcy more complex and more expensive, consumer bankruptcy is working fairly well in Northern California. The bar has learned to navigate the new law, shuffle the additional forms and avoid the events of “automatic dismissal”. We only need one little change to the law to make relief from…
Ruling against the California Franchise Tax Board, the 9th Circuit upheld Oakland bankruptcy judge Edward Jellen’s decision in the Chapter 13 case of Brenda Marie Jones. At issue was whether Jones could discharge a state tax debt in her Chapter 7 case;? the question turned on an arcane question of what the Bankruptcy Code means…
Junior lenders who consent to a short sale of underwater homes are barred from seeking to collect anything further from sellers under a newly enacted California statute. The law, signed on July 15, 2011, becomes effective immediately.? It applies to properties, held by individuals, comprising 1-4 residential units.? Senate Bill 458 accords the same restrictions…
Californians may enjoy an increase in the exemption for a principal residence and compensating increases in the exemptions available under CCP 703 to Californians filing bankruptcy.? The bill under consideration , AB 929, will not, however, increase the wildcard, or grubstake, exemption in the CCP 703 scheme. A bill to again revise California Exemptions, introduced…
Effective January 1, 2011, a lender who approves a short sale of California residential property may not look to the seller for the shortfall.? The addition to the California Code of Civil Procedure at Section 580(e) applies only to properties of one to four units and has an exception if the seller commits waste or…
