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How To Spot A Fake IRS Officer

By Cathy Moran

Identity thieves are now posing as “helpful” folks from the IRS. These scammers email you with the disturbing news that your tax return has been flagged for further examination. Posing as representing the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service, they offer help in “resolving” the problem, if you’ll just click a link and provide them information. They […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Taxes

Staying Out Of Bankruptcy Trustee’s Crosshairs

By Cathy Moran

Clients who want the benefits of bankruptcy without any change in the way they want to live life have been the theme of my practice lately. This seems to come out when we do a Schedule J budget in a Chapter 13:  they want $300/month in recreation, $1400 in food, and $300 in clothing. While […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Pondering

Your Rights When Your Home Is Foreclosed

By Cathy Moran

The foreclosure sale is over and the bank now owns the home. You’re now living in someone else’s property. What next? If you were the homeowner in California, here are your choices after the foreclosure: Your rights before the foreclosure sale

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Real property & mortgages Tagged With: 2016

The Tortoise Is The Mascot Of Retirement Savings

By Cathy Moran

Every campaign needs a logo. Make the logo of your financial 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

Social Security Safe In Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

The Chapter 13 trustee objected to the debtors’ repayment plan because they did not plan to devote their Social Security income to repaying creditors.   And, he complained, they proposed to keep and pay for vehicles that are luxury items. The plan is not proposed in good faith, he claimed, as required by the Bankruptcy Code. The […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Consumer Rights

Melania Trump Sold The American Dream Short

By Cathy Moran

The infamous Melania Trump speech at the Republican convention shared more than a paragraph or so with Michelle Obama. It shared Michelle’s  aspirational thought that in America, any child with hard work and perseverance can succeed. “The only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Pondering Tagged With: 2016

File Bankruptcy All Alone: No Spouse Required

By Cathy Moran

File Bankruptcy Without Your Spouse

We’re so used to thinking about married folk as a couple, rather than as two individuals:  George and Gracie;  Bill and Hillary;  John and Abigail. The Bankruptcy Code feeds that perception when it allows a married couple to file a joint case.  Two people, one set of papers, one filing fee. But while filing together […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights

Dead Debts Haunt Home Purchase

By Cathy Moran

Watch for old debts

Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. It’s also the price of freedom from old debts, as my former bankruptcy client learned. He was about to close escrow on a new home a couple of years after his discharge. But the sale came to a screaming halt when an old, discharged debt reappeared on his […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Life after bankruptcy, True Stories

Why Creditors Should Get Less in Chapter 13

By Cathy Moran

Spending every dollar they make, and then some, is often how our Chapter 13 clients got into financial trouble. Yet Chapter 13, as practiced, validates the practice of continuing to spend 100% of each month’s income during the life of the plan. In doing so, we squander the chance to use Chapter 13 to teach […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Consumer Rights, Pondering

At Risk Of Arrest For Not Paying Your Debts?

By Cathy Moran

This fake arrest warrant is wrong in so many ways. Repeat after me: we don’t jail people for debt. More on scams and scammers We’re from the IRS and we’re here to help Phone tip to avoid arrest

Filed Under: Consumer Rights

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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 on how I think law should work for the consumer and small businesses when it comes to debt.

Moran Law Group
Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

How Bankruptcy Works

Speak Fluent Bankruptcy: Guide To Essential Bankruptcy Terms

Bankruptcy has its own language.  If you are considering filing bankruptcy, it helps to know the language spoken there. Master just a couple of words and phrases, and input from a bankruptcy lawyer starts to make sense. So, in our continuing campaign for better understanding of bankruptcy, here's a dozen … Read more

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