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Does Bankruptcy Bar Retirement Savings?

By Cathy Moran

retirement contributions

Ongoing retirement saving by Chapter 13 debtors has been a touchy subject since the means test became a part of the bankruptcy scene. The means test was intended to squeeze every available dollar from consumer debtors. It works by limiting the expenses that can be deducted from income in figuring what a debtor can/must pay […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Developing law, Featured Tagged With: 2020, means test, retirement

Glimmer of Hope For Change In Student Loan Dischargeability

By Cathy Moran

student loan door opening

A small opening in the legal barrier to discharging student loans in bankruptcy has appeared in a case called Roth. To discharge a student loan in bankruptcy, the borrower must show that repayment of the loan would cause he and his dependents undue hardship. The test for what constitutes “undue hardship”  is many circuits the […]

Filed Under: Developing law

The One Fix Silicon Valley Bankruptcy Courts Need

By Cathy Moran

underwater real estate

Despite BAPCPA, the 2005 “reform” that made bankruptcy more complex and more expensive,  consumer bankruptcy is working fairly well in Northern California. The bar has learned to navigate the new law, shuffle the additional forms and avoid the events of “automatic dismissal”. We only  need one little change to the law to make relief from […]

Filed Under: Developing law

Oakland Bankruptcy Judge Upheld At 9th Circuit

By Cathy Moran

time til foreclosure

Ruling against the California Franchise Tax Board, the 9th Circuit upheld Oakland bankruptcy judge Edward Jellen’s decision in the Chapter 13 case of Brenda Marie Jones. At issue was whether Jones could discharge a state tax debt in her Chapter 7 case; the question turned on an arcane question of what the Bankruptcy Code means […]

Filed Under: Developing law

No Recourse for Junior Lien in Short Sale

By Cathy Moran

Junior lenders who consent to a short sale of underwater homes are barred from seeking to collect anything further from sellers under a newly enacted California statute. The law, signed on July 15, 2011, becomes effective immediately. It applies to properties, held by individuals, comprising 1-4 residential units.  Senate Bill 458 accords the same restrictions […]

Filed Under: Developing law, Strictly California

New California law protects sellers in short sales

By Cathy Moran

Effective January 1, 2011, a lender who approves a short sale of California residential property may not look to the seller for the shortfall. The addition to the California Code of Civil Procedure at Section 580(e) applies only to properties of one to four units and has an exception if the seller commits waste or […]

Filed Under: Developing law, Real property & mortgages

“Chapter 20” Lives in Northern California Bankruptcy Courts

By Cathy Moran

Debtors with a Chapter 7 discharge too recently to get a discharge in a subsequent Chapter 13 can strip off underwater mortgage liens under a decision issued by Judge Edward Jellen in the Oakland division. This has been a simmering issue, since the guidelines issued by the judges in the Northern District of California include […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Developing law

Coronavirus & Your Finances

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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