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Debt Collection Breakthrough Protection

By Cathy Moran

lawsuit on old debt

The new rule defines attempts to collect a time-barred debt a false or deceptive practice, forbidden to debt collectors. The new prohibition becomes effective November 30, 2021 when amendments to the rules associated with the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act become law. New rule applies to debt collectors Importantly, the FDCPA applies only to […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Debt Collection Rights Tagged With: 2020, debt collection

Five Ways To Bankruptcy Proof Your Divorce

By Cathy Moran

No matter how prejudicial or unfair, a Chapter 13 discharge will relieve a former spouse of obligations of all obligations to their ex except for support. It’s too late to protect your hard won rights to non support payments once the bankruptcy is filed. Let’s look at how ex spouses are vulnerable to a bankruptcy discharge. Then […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Family Law Tagged With: divorce

Are You Better Off With Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

Bankruptcy trends meaningless

Who cares whether bankruptcy filings are up or down? Bankruptcy professionals, certainly. Economists, probably. But if it’s you and your checkbook, you take little comfort that lots of others are filing.  Nor, when everyone else seems to be making it OK  while you flounder, are you reassured. Bankruptcy seems to follow economic expansion.  Some expansion […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights

Means Test Cheat Sheet 2: Taxes In Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy means test trick

If the most useful trick for beating the means test involves projecting health care expenses, the second most useful trick involves taxes. Tax troubles drive the filing of a large percentage of bankruptcy cases these days.  It makes sense:  bankruptcy is a powerful tax tool and a  bankruptcy judge can be a good ally when […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Means test Tagged With: 2016

Speak Fluent Bankruptcy: Guide To Essential Bankruptcy Terms

By Cathy Moran

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 phrases from the language of […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2017

What Does A Bankruptcy Lawyer Do For You

By Cathy Moran

what does bankruptcy lawyer do

Lawyers cost money and you’re considering bankruptcy because you don’t have enough money. What would a bankruptcy lawyer do for you? The existence of official bankruptcy forms make it seem that bankruptcy is just filling out forms. Unfortunately, that isn’t so. Forms are only part of the picture. An important part, but not the whole […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, You & your lawyer Tagged With: 2021

Dividing Debts At Divorce: What You Need To Know

By Cathy Moran

The division of the debts of a failed marriage, however carefully crafted at divorce, can be utterly destroyed if one of the former spouses files a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A Chapter 13 discharge is double barreled.  It will eliminate the debts that the filing spouse owes to creditors.  But, it also wipes out any obligation to […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Family Law

Why Credit Cards Win Clash of Creditors

By Cathy Moran

Credit cards vanquish tax collector

In the tug o war of which creditor to pay, why is it that credit cards win over taxes and child support? I’m accustomed to clients who pay creditors rather than provide for their own health care, emergency fund, or retirement. That’s taking care of commitments to others before self. But I haven’t figured out […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights

Protecting Your Co signor When You Can’t Pay

By Cathy Moran

cosigned loans

Cosigning a loan links you and your cosignor together for the life of the debt. If you get in financial trouble, your troubles are your co signor’s troubles too. If you can’t pay your debts, the standard bankruptcy discharge will get rid of your debt, but it doesn’t help your co signor. Even while you […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2017

How You Can Collect From The Debt Collectors

By Mike Cardoza

sue debt collectors

I team up with consumer lawyer Mike Cardoza to identify your rights against debt collectors and then to preserve those claims through bankruptcy. The longer you resisted filing bankruptcy, the more likely that you’ve endured harassing encounters with debt collectors. And the more encounters you have with debt collectors, the more likely that you’ve been […]

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

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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

Cheat Sheet For Passing Bankruptcy Means Test

The bankruptcy means test has a fatal weakness in its attempt to keep people out of bankruptcy. Like so much recently, it's health care. It's health care, in the future, to be paid before your creditors get any money in your bankruptcy. It works because, in a logic that only Congress could employ, the means … Read more

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