Nothing strikes terror in someone behind on their bills like a debt collector call to their family. Sheer terror. It works, too. That fear is second only to a wage garnishment for bringing people to see a bankruptcy lawyer. The only flaw in the collector’s strategy in contacting your family about your debts is that […]
When Foreclosure Requires You Move
When you’ve decided to walk away from a house you can no longer afford, don’t overlook the opportunity to be paid to move out. The foreclosure crisis of 2008 brought with it a new phenomenon: cash for keys. The banks who bought the house at foreclosure realized that it is cheaper and more orderly to […]
Why Rising Home Prices Will Sink Some Homeowners
The median home price in the Bay Area has risen to over $500,000 for the first time in five years, the Mercury News reported this week. For lots of home owners, that says the window of opportunity is closing. What? The usual thinking is that rising values are good for homeowners and bad for […]
Bankruptcy Exemption Bill Changes More Than Dollar Amounts
An odd quirk in California’s bankruptcy exemptions was eliminated when the exclusion for pain and suffering damages was deleted by the legislature. Before January, 2013, someone filing bankruptcy could exempt money recovered for a personal injury up to $17,425. But no part of any recovery for pain and suffering associated with that injury was exempt. […]
Tax Question Roundup
Not long til tax returns are due. Time for a roundup of tax issues I see from atop my soapbox. I’ll point you to fuller discussions of tax topics. Are Chapter 13 payments deductible? I’ve never seen a claim that the entire monthly payment is deductible. In a case where all of the […]
Means Test Not Sole Measure Of Bankruptcy Abuse
Two appeals courts hold that a bankruptcy judge may dismiss a Chapter 7 case based on ability to pay debts, even if the debtors pass the means test. Increasingly over the last 20 years, Congress has tried to put Chapter 7 off limits to debtors who can pay a meaningful portion of their debts. For […]
Filing Bankruptcy Is All About Your Future
The decision to file bankruptcy is usually driven by threats from creditors to take something from you, now. Do nothing and your creditor can levy your bank account or garnish your wages. More about how lawsuits work It’s all too human to put off a difficult step like filing bankruptcy until those threats seem real and […]
Lien Strips Live in Chapter 20
Twenty is my favorite number these days. The Oakland bankruptcy judges have ruled consistent with one another that lien stipping in Chapter 13 is allowed in a case where the debtor isn’t eligible for a discharge. Chapter 20 lives and thrives!! Before you run off to the law library looking for Chapter 20, I confess […]
Car Crazy In Bankruptcy Court
My client wants to keep paying on his car after bankruptcy. The lender wants my client to keep paying on his car after bankruptcy. Yet it took an afternoon in court for a hearing set by the judge on approval of my client’s reaffirmation agreement with the car lender to get everyone what they wanted. What […]
Depressed Property Values & Valueless Liens
Filing bankruptcy to eliminate an underwater lien is perfectly acceptable, says the 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. Whew! Sometimes the wave of hostility to debtors that resulted in bankruptcy “reform” in 2005 seems to continue to poison judicial attitudes toward my clients. The Lepe decision is refreshingly different and supportive. And provides a window of […]
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