• Home
  • Bankruptcy in Brief
  • ABC’s of Bankruptcy
  • Considering Bankruptcy
  • True Stories
  • Chapter 13
  • Blog
  • About
  • TOC

Northern California Bankruptcy Lawyer

On The Bankruptcy Soapbox

The Soap Box
  • How bankruptcy works
  • Mortgage Matters
  • Consumer Rights
  • You & Your Lawyer
  • Small Business
  • Family Law

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

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

When Can I File Bankruptcy Again

Remember the old high school cheer:  two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? Turns out, that's not just a cheer, it's shorthand for the rule on when you can file bankruptcy again. And it points out that when you can file again depends on what kind of bankruptcy you filed last time. Here's how it … Read more

More Posts from this Category

643 Bair Island Road
Suite 403
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: (650) 694-4700
Phone: (650) 368-4700

Categories

All content copyright © Moran Law Group. All rights reserved.