I was playing in my head with a piece I was writing for consumers about the bankruptcy decision. I caught myself thinking about “whether the bankruptcy was caused by mortgage debt or ….” . And I hauled myself to a halt. How did the words “bankruptcy” and “cause” get linked in my head? In my […]
California Garnishment Now Provides Greater Protection Of Wages
Workers making close to the California minimum wage got additional protection from wage garnishments under a change in the law effective back in 2013. With the annual increases in the state minimum wage, in 2019 California law now protects an employee’s weekly net wages up to 40 times the state minimum wage, currently $11 to $12 […]
What The Wild Things Teach Us About Bankruptcy
I miss Maurice Sendak, the late author of children’s books. What does a book about a naughty child who adventures in a nighttime land of monsters have to do with bankruptcy? The last image in his signature book, Where The Wild Things Are, is my touchpiece for clients afraid to file bankruptcy. Do you remember […]
What Everyone Knows About Bankruptcy: Not
Lots of people profess to know all about bankruptcy. Whether they have good information or not. But other professionals should know better than to advise people about the workings of bankruptcy. And if they don’t know better, they should be made to pay, in some exquisitely painful way, for the harm they inflict. The rack […]
Six Rotten Excuses Not To File Bankruptcy
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. […]
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 […]
