I am not a bankruptcy attorney. I never have been. I am a mortgage law attorney. But in the current financial climate, I see clients in my office daily who desperately need to file bankruptcy…And they won’t. The reasons they give, and the parade of horrors they’ve built up in their minds about bankruptcy, are heart-felt, […]
Better To Live With Debts Than File Bankruptcy?
Locked up in debt? Should you file bankruptcy? Or, is it better to live with your debt and keep making minimum payments? Does life get better or worse if you file bankruptcy? That question sums up most people’s fears about shedding their debt through bankruptcy. What will life be like, after bankruptcy? Good questions. And I […]
How Filing Bankruptcy Can Benefits Your Heirs
Elders in California enjoy enhanced state exemptions that protect them from debt collectors. Those protections often make it unnecessary for a debt-laden senior to file bankruptcy. But no one talks about one consequence of relying on exemption law to fend off creditors. California exemption laws that fully protect the assets of seniors provide no protection to the heirs. […]
When Is The Time Right 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 […]
The Difference Between Good Bankruptcy Lawyer and Great Bankruptcy Lawyer
Finding the right bankruptcy lawyer may be the difference between a successful bankruptcy and a nightmare. Choosing a lawyer you can talk to is critical because the basic bankruptcy bargain is full disclosure in exchange for discharge of debts. You’ll be disclosing lots of information normally held confidential. But there’s more. It’s not just a […]
What The Fool Got Wrong About Filing Bankruptcy
The famous poem begins, “how do I love thee? let me count the ways”. But what if it’s not love that we are counting, but loathing? Let me count the ways I loathe the Motley Fool’s article asking should I file bankruptcy? The Fool’s underlying assumption is that people in debt flock to bankruptcy as […]
When Is The Right Time 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 […]
Should You Pay Your Creditors Rather Than File Bankruptcy?
Is there an alternative to bankruptcy, my clients often ask. Can I realistically avoid filing bankruptcy? A fellow bankruptcy lawyer outlined what it takes to get out of debt without bankruptcy. make more money; spend less on today’s expenses; and use all your savings to pay off debt. If you could do all three, for […]
The Worst Reason To Choose Debt Settlement Over Bankruptcy
The guy with an old debt asked if bankruptcy or debt settlement would cause greater damage to his “credit”. The money advice columnist gave the right answer to the wrong question. She got it backwards. She advised that bankruptcy was more damaging given that the nagging debts were already three years old and would drop off his […]
Is There Life After Bankruptcy?
Is bankruptcy worth it? If you see filing bankruptcy to get a fresh start as painful or less than honorable, you might wonder what life is like, on the other side of bankruptcy. What’s the return on taking the big step? I got a report from the other side this week from a Chapter 7 […]
