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Do You Qualify for Chapter 13: The Debt Limits

By Cathy Moran

13 debt limits

Chapter 13 debt limits are one of the eligibility requirements to file for this form of bankruptcy reorganization. The test has two prongs: unsecured debt and secured debt. Come in under each prong and you meet the debt limits test. For cases filed on April 1, 2025 and afterwards, the Chapter 13 debt limits are: […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2025, chapter 13, debt limits

What You Think About Chapter 13 Is Dead Wrong

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy misunderstanding

The difference between bankruptcy’s Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 is often expressed this way:    Chapter 7 is a liquidation proceeding Chapter 13 is a repayment plan And therein lies the biggest misconception about Chapter 13:  13 does not necessarily repay everything you owe. It’s a repayment plan alright, but not necessarily a 100% repayment . […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Featured Tagged With: 2018, chapter 13, repayment

Debt Settlement Is A Dud

By Cathy Moran

debt settlement

Debt settlement is often dangled in front of the financially challenged as an alternative to bankruptcy. Sounds good:  making a deal with your creditors has enormous appeal when you can’t pay everything that you owe. And debt settlement companies count on it. The pitch for “settling your debts” touches a nerve.  Almost everyone WANTS to […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: debt management, debt settlement, settle debts

The Essential Step To Get Your Day In Court

By Cathy Moran

defending debt suit

When you’re sued on an old debt, it’s easy to imagine appearing on the court date to tell the judge your side of the story. You imagine the judge considering your argument and challenging the other side to prove otherwise. It’s a comforting image, but it will never happen if you haven’t taken the first […]

Filed Under: Debt Collection Rights, Featured Tagged With: collection, court, lawsuit, sued

Information is power….become more powerful

By Cathy Moran

knowledge is power

In the information age, we’re inundated with information about bankruptcy. Some of it accurate and much of it nonesense or worse. Half the people who’ve filed bankruptcy wouldn’t dream of telling you about it, and those who do talk are as likely to spread outdated or erroneous information as accurate, relevant information. The more you […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2025

Debt Can Kill You If You Let It

By Cathy Moran

Debt is deadly. There is a straight-line connection between debt and health: the stress of too much debt erodes physical health. The single largest source of stress in the US, at least before COVID-19, is money. Or lack of money. Other potent sources of stress include work, the economy, family and relationships.  As a bankrutpcy […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Featured

Resolve To Thrive In The New Year

By Cathy Moran

finances in new year

May I suggest a 2025 New Year’s resolution?  It doesn’t involve diets or workouts or commitments to huge personal transformation. Take a hard look at your financial situation. Consider whether a fresh financial start makes sense. Just getting by A life of minimum payments, minuscule bank accounts, and no retirement savings is a life fraught […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2023, resolutions

The Secret Alternative To Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

alternatives to bankruptcy

Looking for the secret alternative to bankruptcy which will solve your debt problems without filing? Why not? Ads for debt settlement companies and do-it-yourself books always promise to reveal the tricks to make your bills vanish for pennies, without resort to bankruptcy. (Isn’t it interesting that these “secrets” are known only by people who want […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Featured Tagged With: 2016, bankruptcy alternatives, debt settlement

5 Things To Do When You Have Been Sued

By Cathy Moran

The ring on the doorbell was a process server. Bingo!  You’ve been sued. Now what? Breathe deeply and work your way through this five step check list.  Then I’ll suggest some options. The details in this post are based on California law. The basic principles of notice, answer, and trial apply everywhere. Scout the territory […]

Filed Under: Debt Collection Rights, Featured Tagged With: garnishment, lawsuit, sued

Got Tax Trouble? Don’t File Bankruptcy In December

By Cathy Moran

wait to file bankruptcy

Bankruptcy can provide tax relief,  if your timing is right. Tax troubles are at the heart of so many bankruptcy filings.  It makes sense:  bankruptcy is a powerful and predictable tool to get out of tax debt. But filing bankruptcy before the end of the year may fix only a part of your tax problems.  […]

Filed Under: Featured, Taxes Tagged With: 2016, discharge taxes

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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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