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Get Rid Of Liens On Your Home

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy superpower

Bankruptcy gives you a super power: you’re able to remove liens on your home, for good. You can’t wipe out every kind of lien. But bankruptcy law allows you to invalidate judicial liens that attach to your home and invade any exemption you are entitled to. The power is available to individuals in any chapter […]

Filed Under: Featured, Uncategorized

Bankruptcy Means Test: New Numbers, Little Impact For Bay Area

By Cathy Moran

means test numbers

The bankruptcy means test numbers for California are out, showing median incomes moving in both directions, depending on family size. In the Bay Area, the means test income levels, coupled with the cost of housing, don’t keep many people out of the bankruptcy chapter of their choice. More. Why the means test matters The median […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: Alameda, means test, median income bay area, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz

When You’re Behind On Your Car Loan

By Cathy Moran

car loan

Are you looking over your shoulder for the repo man every time you park your car? You’re not alone. Delinquent car loans are on the rise:  almost 1 in 20 vehicle loans are in default. If you’re in that group of Americans struggling to pay for your wheels, there are solutions in bankruptcy. If you […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2017, car loan

What Your Signature On Your Bankruptcy Papers Really Says

By Cathy Moran

Wish I had a buck for every time a client has told me, “Yes, I signed it, but I didn’t read it”. This is usually delivered as though the signature had no meaning if it wasn’t coupled with actual reading. Unfortunately, it isn’t so. Not true in commerce in general, and certainly not true when you […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works Tagged With: perjury, schedules

How To Pay For Bankruptcy When You’re Flat Broke

By Cathy Moran

paying for bankruptcy

One of the cosmic ironies of our legal system is that it costs money to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy gets you out of debt only if you have the money to file. The costs of bankruptcy include the filing fee collected by the court; the required credit counseling; and, if you’re smart, an experienced lawyer to […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights

California’s New Exemptions For Money In The Bank

By Cathy Moran

california cash exemptions\

California has finally created a state law exemption for cash in the bank. Californians filing bankruptcy no longer face loss of all the funds in their bank accounts when they choose California’s generous homestead, thanks to changes in exemption law. Two exemption statutes , new in 2020 , provide protection for cash in the bank […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: 2021, California, exemptions

The Judgment Lien That Escaped Your Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

forgotten lien

What do you do when you discover old judgment liens on your home long after you filed bankruptcy? Your bankruptcy case is closed. You’re recovering nicely. Then you find there’s a judgment lien on your house from before your bankruptcy that you didn’t know about. And the law says that liens survive a bankruptcy case, […]

Filed Under: Real property & mortgages

5 Free Tools To Fight A Debt Collector

By Cathy Moran

debt collection rights

When a debt collector calls, the conversation often seems all too one-sided. The collector makes impossible demands.  Nothing you say penetrates. Including your assertion that you don’t recognize the collector, the debt, or any legal responsibility for paying. Or maybe you recognize the debt but simply don’t have the money to deal with old debt […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Debt Collection Rights

When Is The Time Right To File Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

time to file bankruptcy

Just like stand-up comedy and batting in baseball, filing bankruptcy is all about timing. Timing your bankruptcy filing is no different. File bankruptcy too early, or too late, and you risk losing assets or advantages that better timing could have assured. Admittedly, you don’t always have the luxury of filing bankruptcy on your own schedule. […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Featured Tagged With: 2020, when to file bankruptcy

Take Credit For The Tax Deductions That Hide In Chapter 13

By Cathy Moran

tax deductions bankruptcy

It’s tax time: don’t overlook tax deductions in Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. Tax deductions lurk in the most unlikely places. If your Chapter 13 plan is catching up home loan arrears, there’s a deduction hiding in the trustee’s disbursement records. Most likely, the lender’s filed proof of claim in the bankruptcy case is full of […]

Filed Under: Featured, Taxes

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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

What You Keep In Chapter 13

Just because debtors can keep their upscale trappings and their toys bought on credit doesn't mean they should. Still, I share my colleagues excitement over the 9th Circuit's recent decision in Welsh.   The appeals court held that a debtor wasn't guilty of bad faith in proposing a Chapter 13 plan that kept and … Read more

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