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Car Crazy In Bankruptcy Court

By Cathy Moran

Keep the car through bankruptcy

My client wants to keep paying on his car after bankruptcy. The lender wants my client to keep paying on his car after bankruptcy. Yet it took an afternoon in court for a hearing set by the judge on approval of my client’s reaffirmation agreement with the car lender to get everyone what they wanted. What […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works, True Stories Tagged With: bankruptcy, Car, Car After Bankruptcy, Car Payment, Reaffirmation Agreement, Repossession

Only Sex Appeal and the U.S. Congress Can Sell These Services

By Cathy Moran

Selling pointless bankruptcy counseling

  Russell A. DeMott is a friend of mine and  a Charleston, South Carolina bankruptcy and foreclosure defense lawyer .   He likes hot women; don’t ask why he wrote this piece for me at the Soapbox.   Hot Women and Bankruptcy? What do hot women have to do with bankruptcy?  Selling credit counseling and debtor […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works

What T-Boz Missed When Chapter 13 Dismissed

By Cathy Moran

      T-Boz Watkins got her Chapter 13 case tossed out of court for not following the rules of Chapter 13 bankruptcy. While Jay Fleischman at ConsumerHelpCentral laid down the law, so to speak, in listing the rules, he didn’t remind us why they are worth following. Chapter 13 bankruptcy: better than sliced bread […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, How bankruptcy works

Bankruptcy Alphabet: M Is For Modify

By Cathy Moran

M is for Modify in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. The Bankruptcy Code provides that a borrower can modify the terms of some secured debts, like car loans, judgment liens, and some mortgages. And in the midst of the current pandemic mess, the automatic stay can prevent foreclosure while a homeowner seeks a mortgage modification on their […]

Filed Under: ABC's of bankruptcy, How bankruptcy works

Cramming Down Mortgage Liens: The Plot Thickens

By Cathy Moran

cutting mortgage to size

Can you afford to cram down a mortgage when cram down is permitted? Mortgages on a debtor’s home are protected from cram down in Chapter 13 by 1322(b)(2). Mortgages on any other kind of real estate can be reduced to the value at filing of the collateral securing the debt as of the date of […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works, Real property & mortgages

Financial education program worthwhile

By Cathy Moran

Stand by:  I’m going to say something nice about BAPCPA, the bankruptcy “reform” law of 2005.  The debtor education requirement that is a condition of getting a discharge is a good idea.  Just this week, two clients have reported that they learned useful stuff from the required program. Filing bankruptcy is a teachable moment for […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works

Another voice in the savings chorus

By Cathy Moran

I am not alone! A Wisconsin judge allowed Chapter 7 debtors to contribute to retirement savings in the face of a means test challenge claiming savings was an abuse of the bankruptcy system. Hurray! Another in the small band of those touting savings. In the Mravik case, the debtor’s Chapter 7 means test, which does […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works

Cash collateral in consumer cases

By Cathy Moran

It works like this: a creditor with a lien on income producing assets has a lien on the cash that asset produces as well. But you don’t have to have a traditional business to have cash collateral, and the duties it brings, in a bankruptcy reorganization. Rents are cash collateral The issue usually arises with […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works

Bankruptcy improves your credit score

By Cathy Moran

To a distressing extent, people in dire financial straits still worry that escaping overwhelming debt via bankruptcy will destroy their credit score. This article in Smart Money shows why filing bankruptcy can improve the debtor’s credit score and offers tips to get the most improvement following bankruptcy. While I resist the growing importance of credit […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works, Life after bankruptcy

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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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