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Who Profits When Money Trouble Is Shameful?

By Cathy Moran

money troubles taboo

Talking about our financial troubles is taboo in this society. In fact, we are more willing to talk about our sex lives than our money troubles. We lionize those who make a fortune.  Everyone expects to live the middle class life. It becomes easy to think that something is wrong with you if you aren’t […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights Tagged With: debt settlement

Reduce Your Tax Hit By Filing Bankruptcy Rather Than Settling Debts

By Cathy Moran

tax bite

Settle your debts outside of bankruptcy and you may be bitten by taxes you didn’t expect years later. Yet, everyone I talk to would rather cut a deal with their creditors than file bankruptcy.  It’s universal. But here’s the killer reason why bankruptcy alone protects homeowners from a unexpected  tax consequence down the road. Debt […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights, Taxes Tagged With: 2018, cancellation of debt tax

Stressed Families Can Take A Card From Trump Casino

By Cathy Moran

From our archives, but still on point: Donald Trump’s Atlantic City casino operation filed bankruptcy, following in the steps of his other entities. What does that mean to ordinary folk here on the West Coast struggling with bills and the grind of staying afloat month to month? Why does this bit of news show up […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights

What Causes Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

consider bankruptcy

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 […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights

California Garnishment Now Provides Greater Protection Of Wages

By Cathy Moran

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 […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Strictly California

What The Wild Things Teach Us About Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy fears overblown

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 being scared of bankruptcy? The last image in his signature book, Where The Wild Things Are, is my touchpiece for clients afraid to file bankruptcy. […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights

Six Rotten Excuses Not To File Bankruptcy

By Bill Purdy

Six Rotten Excuses Not To FIle

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, […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, How bankruptcy works Tagged With: guest post

Better To Live With Debts Than File Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

living in debt

Locked up in debt? What are the consequences of 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. […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2016

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

How Creditors Spread Fear Of Bankruptcy For Profit

By Cathy Moran

  The unknown is often fearful. My colleague Peter Orville wrote It is natural to be afraid of doing something you’ve never done before, like filing for bankruptcy protection. This is especially true if you’ve heard stories about why you shouldn’t file bankruptcy. Peter has it right.  Some trepidation is natural. My beef is that […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy

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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

Everyone gets $1M + bankruptcy exemption

Bankruptcy exemptions vary from state to state, but everyone gets an exemption of ~$1.75 M for money in an IRA. It's part of the Bankruptcy Code (section 522(n)) that applies to all filers, wherever they live. The exemption covers both classic, before-tax IRA's and Roth IRA's that are funded with after-tax dollars. … Read more

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