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Bankruptcy Busts Taxes If The Timing Is Right

By Cathy Moran

taxes dischargeable

Got unpaid taxes for 2019?  Three tax discharge timing rules control when those taxes can be wiped out in bankruptcy. On April 15, 2023 those taxes reached the end of the line as priority claims in bankruptcy.  Or, the magic date may be October 15, 2023, if you got an extension to file the return. […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Taxes Tagged With: 2017, bankruptcy timing, discharge taxes

Has Your Social Security Number Been Suspended?

By Cathy Moran

social security scam

The latest variety of tax scam picked the wrong target when they called my fellow bankruptcy lawyer Wayne Silver. Your social security number has been suspended, claimed the caller. Having no identity is scary. What’s a guy to do without a Social Security number? It’s sad that we are reduced to needing a number to validate […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2019, scams, social security

Stop Making Quarterly Tax Payments

By Cathy Moran Leave a Comment

quarterly tax payment

Uncle Sam expects a quarterly tax payment from the self employed.  Since you don’t get a paycheck with regular tax withholding, the burden’s on you. Lighten the burden. Make this the last quarterly tax payment you pay. Seriously.  Don’t make any quarterly payments for this coming year. Think I’m advocating tax resistance?  No way. The tax collectors […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Taxes Tagged With: self employed taxes

Do California Seniors Need to File Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran Leave a Comment

California, it turns out, is a great place to retire. Not because of the cost of living, certainly.  In spite of the cost of living. Because California exemptions are very generous to those of retirement age. Those exemptions effectively make many indebted seniors collection-proof. How exemptions protect seniors Exemption laws come from the idea that, […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights

Co Signers Put Themselves In Creditor’s Crosshairs

By Cathy Moran

cosigner in crosshairs

The liability of a co signer is the single most common misunderstanding about the law that I see. Put bluntly, a co-signer is just as liable for the debt as the primary borrower. Co sign someone else’s debt and you put yourself in the creditor’s cross hairs. That should make the hair on the back […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2016

All You Need To Know About Bankruptcy Stay & Pending Litigation

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy during litigation

When a trial date looms, bankruptcy may look better and better to a defendant. Bankruptcy can be the emergency exit from a bad situation that is about to get worse. That’s because every bankruptcy case comes with an  automatic stay .  That’s  a federal court injunction automatically entered when a bankruptcy case is filed, protecting the […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights

Unicorns, Wookies, And Medical Bankruptcies

By Cathy Moran

What do Unicorns, Wookies, and Medical Bankruptcies  have in common? Each is a figment of our imagination. None of them exists in the real world. Medical bankruptcy does not exist, despite the suggestion in a recent FoxBusiness article, where the author talked about medical bankruptcy contrasted to personal bankruptcy. When it comes to medical bankruptcy, consumers […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights

Your Tax Refund In The Crosshairs In Debt Collecting Season

By Mike Cardoza

debt collecting season

Who knew that there was a season for debt collecting?  My friend and colleague attorney  Mike Cardoza does.  See what he says. The beginning of the year  through about the end of March is the big season for debt collection! Why? Because collectors are pretty sure that you have some money in your pocket – […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Debt Collection Rights Tagged With: 2018, tax refund

Cut Tax Penalties In Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

Get in tax trouble and the tax penalties often grow huge. What starts as a manageable problem can soon tower over you. Breathe deep;  there is a solution. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can cut tax penalties down to size. All tax penalties discharged in 13 Old or new, large or small, Chapter 13 discharges all unsecured […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Consumer Rights, Taxes Tagged With: tax penalties

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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

How To Pay For Bankruptcy When You’re Flat Broke

One of the cosmic ironies of our legal system is that it costs money to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy gets you out of debt only if you have the money to file. The costs of bankruptcy include the filing fee collected by the court; the required credit counseling; and, if you're smart, an experienced lawyer to make sure … Read more

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