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Search Results for: exemption planning

Everyone gets the $1M + bankruptcy exemption

By Cathy Moran

IRA safe in bankruptcy

Bankruptcy exemptions vary from state to state, but everyone gets an exemption of ~$1.75 M for money in an IRA. It’s part of the Bankruptcy Code (section 522(n)) that applies to all filers, wherever they live. The exemption covers both classic, before-tax IRA’s and Roth IRA’s that are funded with after-tax dollars. Roll-overs into an […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2024, exemptions, IRA, retirement

The Secret Bankruptcy Exemptions

By Cathy Moran

Exemptions in bankruptcy are all about what you keep. Exemptions define the collection of assets and rights that are safe from the reach of a bankruptcy trustee or your creditors. But planning exemptions in a bankruptcy case is more than just the looking down the list of things you keep through bankruptcy and the dollar amount […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works

The Biggest Lie About Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

possessions are sold

The claim that you lose everything in bankruptcy is, flat out, the biggest lie about bankruptcy. Read anything about Chapter 7 and you get, “Your possessions are sold in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.“ It’s a liquidation proceeding and your stuff will be sold to pay creditors, the lie goes on. No wonder people are scared off […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works Tagged With: bankruptcy sale, exemptions, liquidation

Who To Pay After Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

bills after bankruptcy

You’ve filed bankruptcy. Your creditors are stayed. A bankruptcy discharge is ahead. You’re out from under unrelenting pressure to pay creditors. But don’t let your sense of relief keep you from planning:  who should you pay after your case is filed? Paying creditors after filing bankruptcy Two legal realities drive who needs to be paid […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2016, after bankruptcy

The Tortoise Is The Mascot Of Retirement Savings

By Cathy Moran

Every campaign needs a logo. Make the logo of your retirement planning a turtle, rampant. Rampant, you say?  Turtle? In the Middle Ages, knights put their ID’s on their shields in  elaborate heraldry that told bystanders who he was, what his birth order was, and which side of the blanket he was born on. Heraldry featured animals, […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: asset protection, exemptions, retirement

Don’t Tidy Up Before Seeing A Bankruptcy Lawyer

By Cathy Moran

before bankruptcy

Don’t tidy up your financial affairs before consulting a bankruptcy lawyer to plan for bankruptcy. Your current mess may present opportunities to plan your case for a better outcome. You may waste money or lose bankruptcy options when you make last minute changes to your situation without understanding how that situation plays out in bankruptcy. […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights Tagged With: plan bankruptcy

Does Bankruptcy Bar Retirement Savings?

By Cathy Moran

retirement contributions

Ongoing retirement saving by Chapter 13 debtors has been a touchy subject since the means test became a part of the bankruptcy scene. The means test was intended to squeeze every available dollar from consumer debtors. It works by limiting the expenses that can be deducted from income in figuring what a debtor can/must pay […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Featured Tagged With: 2020, means test, retirement

7 Essentials For Better Results From Filing Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

before filing bankruptcy

Plan before filing bankruptcy and you get better, more certain relief. Even if you’re not quite sure that you’re ready to take the bankruptcy plunge, scout the bankruptcy territory. Take some time to learn the rules and explore ways to maximize the relief available in bankruptcy. If you don’t plan ahead and just rush into […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Featured Tagged With: 2021, means test

What Does A Bankruptcy Lawyer Do For You

By Cathy Moran

what does bankruptcy lawyer do

Lawyers cost money and you’re considering bankruptcy because you don’t have enough money. What would a bankruptcy lawyer do for you? The existence of official bankruptcy forms make it seem that bankruptcy is just filling out forms. Unfortunately, that isn’t so. Forms are only part of the picture. An important part, but not the whole […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, You & your lawyer Tagged With: 2021

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Bankruptcy Basics

About The Soapbox

You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

Moran Law Group
Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

How Bankruptcy Works

Cheat Sheet For Passing Bankruptcy Means Test

The bankruptcy means test has a fatal weakness in its attempt to keep people out of bankruptcy. Like so much recently, it's health care. It's health care, in the future, to be paid before your creditors get any money in your bankruptcy. It works because, in a logic that only Congress could employ, the means … Read more

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