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File bankruptcy tomorrow?

By Cathy Moran

Clients clearly have little sense of how long it takes to file bankruptcy. Proof is what happened Monday: there’s an email the morning’s inbox from a client whom I first met weeks ago. He tells me they want to file before Wednesday’s mediation in state court! I have no creditor information, representation agreement, money, or […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works, You & your lawyer

The Means Test: Badly Mangled

By Cathy Moran

Another purported financial professional has confidently and conclusively gotten the bankruptcy means test absolutely dead wrong. And used that wrong conclusion to steer someone away from bankruptcy. Mt. St. Helens has nothing on me in terms of venting. How can financial professionals get this so wrong, more than a decade after the means test was enacted? Mangling the […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works, Means test, True Stories

Ten Debts That Follow You After Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

debts after bankruptcy

Some debts just follow you out of bankruptcy. Not many but a few. These debts continue to be collectible even after a Chapter 7 discharge.  The discharge in Chapter 13 is different and broader:  just another reason to choose Chapter 13. 1.   Family support Regardless of what it’s called, court ordered payments for support […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Life after bankruptcy Tagged With: 2017, debts after bankruptcy

How A Careless Bankruptcy Can Bite Your Family

By Cathy Moran

Your bankruptcy can affect your family even though they haven’t filed bankruptcy. Transfer assets or repay debts , and you can expose family to attack by the bankruptcy trustee. Even if not fatal, the trustee’s bite can  leave scars. How family gets sucked in I sat waiting for my turn at a bankruptcy hearing last week […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works

The Easiest Business Loan In Town

By Cathy Moran

Easy loans have consequences

Running a small business is hard work.   Cash flow is tight; time is in short supply. When there’s just not enough in the bank to cover payroll, the easiest loan in town is from the Bank of Uncle Sam. There’s no application, no review, no waiting. You just give employees their checks, net of […]

Filed Under: Small business, Strictly California

Who Owns Your Business When You File Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

business bankruptcy

The bankruptcy trustee’s question was straightforward (if inartful) yet the business owner nearly blew the answer. The trustee asked:  are you the sole owner of your business? When my client hesitated, she followed up:  are you a sole proprietor? Focusing on the fact that he was the only person with an interest in the business, […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Small business, True Stories Tagged With: 2018

Mortgage Forbearance For Non-government Backed Loans

By Cathy Moran

Covid 19 home loan forbearance

Are you one of the homeowners whose mortgage isn’t eligible for the government’s COVID forbearance protections? Home loans not backed by the federal government are excluded from the protections for borrowers implemented by FHFA . But as much as one third of US home loans are not backed by the federal government. If that includes […]

Filed Under: Real property & mortgages Tagged With: 2020, covid-19, mortgage

When Is The Right Time To File Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

when to file bankruptcy

It can be hard to know when it’s the right time to file bankruptcy. But I was blown away by the man who called my law office. Should I wait until all of my savings are gone to file bankruptcy?, the caller asked. And he didn’t mean, until my net worth is greatly reduced; he meant, until […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights

Who Gets Grannie’s Cash – Grannie Or The Bankruptcy Trustee?

By Cathy Moran

joint accounts bankruptcy

When there’s a joint bank account and a bankruptcy filing, good intentions can quickly go sour. The bankruptcy trustee sees a pile of money in the bank to which the debtor has access, even though the account also bears the name of someone not in bankruptcy. If the debtor can get the money, the trustee […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: 2017

Debt Collector Threats: Which Ones Are Real?

By Mike Cardoza

debt collector

“What debt collector threats should people be afraid of?” was the question my friend bankruptcy attorney Cathy Moran asked. To which I replied, “Afraid of? Pretty much none of them!” Because they’re mostly all empty threats. You’re not going to jail,   They are not going to come get you, Your credit is not about to […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Debt Collection Rights Tagged With: 2018

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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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