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Can My Bankruptcy Discharge Be Denied?

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy denied

Bankruptcy law presumes that a debtor will get a discharge in a properly filed case. The few reasons a discharge may be denied are spelled out in the Bankruptcy Code. The overwhelming number of Chapter 7 cases result in a discharge. There are no subjective tests for getting a discharge; you don’t have to prove […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2026, discharge denied

Is Your Choice Of Bankruptcy Chapters Really Dictated By Your Stuff?

By Cathy Moran

Through my Twitter feed came a link to the pro’s and con’s of filing bankruptcy from the business section of the Chicago Tribune. Good chance to see how non lawyers see my world, I thought. Bankruptcy was all about protecting “stuff”, said the writer, and the choice of chapters is driven by the kind of […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights Tagged With: choice of chapters

Earmark Tax Payments To Get Proper Credit

By Cathy Moran

earmark tax payment

Get proper credit for tax payment by earmarking. That way, you can tell the IRS how to apply any payment you make voluntarily. Earmarking your check requires them to skip their rules and apply the payment to the tax you direct. Bravo for a small measure of taxpayer control. The term “earmarking” traces to the […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Taxes Tagged With: 2026, earmark, tax payment

Can you file bankruptcy tomorrow?

By Cathy Moran

Most people 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, […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, You & your lawyer

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

What If You Ignore That Lawsuit Against You

By Cathy Moran

ignore lawsuit

How do you ignore a lawsuit and expect a good outcome? Yet twice in the past few months, individuals have come to me with judgments already entered against them. That’s not noteworthy; after all, I’m a bankruptcy lawyer. We deal with unpaid judgments. But both of these men explained the situation this way: the claims […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2021, collection, judgment, lawsuit

What The Fool Got Wrong About Filing Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

should I file 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 […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2018, should I file

The Tortoise Is The Mascot Of Retirement Savings

By Cathy Moran

Every campaign needs a logo. Make the logo of your retirement planning a turtle, rampant. Rampant, you say?  Turtle? In the Middle Ages, knights put their ID’s on their shields in  elaborate heraldry that told bystanders who he was, what his birth order was, and which side of the blanket he was born on. Heraldry featured animals, […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Featured Tagged With: asset protection, exemptions, retirement

When You Can’t Pay The EIDL Loan

By Cathy Moran

EDIL loan due

The COVID-era EIDL loans are coming due. But just because the pandemic is over doesn’t mean that business has returned to normal. Prepandemic, normal may have been difficult too. If yours is one of the many businesses can’t bear the additional stress of repaying EIDL loans, here’s what you need to know. What are EIDL […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Small business Tagged With: 2023, COVID, EIDL, loan default, SBA

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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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