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

Northern California Bankruptcy Lawyer

On The Bankruptcy Soapbox

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

Who Gets A Slice Of The Bankruptcy Pie?

By Cathy Moran

“That woman filed a claim in our bankruptcy case, and we don’t owe her any money!” The next line, or paragraph really, of my client’s email asked what was I, her bankruptcy lawyer, going to do about it. The short answer was nothing. Nada. Not a thing. I didn’t plan to do anything. Because when […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, How bankruptcy works

Automatic Stay Has Exceptions: It Doesn’t Stop Everything

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy stay

The automatic stay is the signature feature of American bankruptcy. Just by filing a bankruptcy case, a federal court injunction instantly prohibits your creditors  from actions to collect a debt from you or your assets. But, there’s a whole list of actions that aren’t included in the stay.  We forget that some kinds of lawsuits […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works Tagged With: 2018

How Much Should You Pay To Get Out Of Debt?

By Cathy Moran

Shop for a bankruptcy lawyer, and you’ll end up wondering what bankruptcy should cost. When you’re flat broke and under pressure, cheaper sure looks better. If a lawyer will do your Chapter 7 for $600, what’s the point of paying $1000? Or even $2000? Like answers to many legal questions, it depends. Bankruptcy relief depends on […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works, You & your lawyer

Bankruptcy Alphabet: Q is for Questions

By Cathy Moran

Bankruptcy Alphabet Q is for Questions

  The letter Q stands for Questions in my bankruptcy alphabet. Like the storied Light Brigade, “stormed at with shot and shell” , we in bankruptcy are peppered with questions, not cannons. Those considering bankruptcy have the profound questions:will bankruptcy improve my situation? what will I give up to get a bankruptcy discharge? what is life […]

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

V Is For Value In Bankruptcy Alphabet

By Cathy Moran

Bankrutpcy Alphabet: V is for Value

  The Letter V is for Value in my bankruptcy alphabet. The value of one’s assets drives exemptions and the question of what you get to keep through bankruptcy. The value of  your assets that are subject to liens also determines whether you can void liens on those assets. I’m fond of saying that bankruptcy […]

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

Your Bankruptcy Discharge Doesn’t End Your Case

By Cathy Moran

  Isn’t my case over? I got my discharge.  Why’s the bankruptcy trustee still  hounding me?, my client asks. People who’ve filed bankruptcy are focused on the discharge as their goal. With their discharge in hand, they think it’s all over. They lose sight of the fact that the administration of a bankruptcy estate by the trustee runs on a parallel track […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works

What You Need To Know About Reaffirmation

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy reaffirmation

Decisions, decisions. Are you going to reaffirm the car loan? Your bankruptcy filing requires that you state your intentions about reaffirmation right up front. Translated, that means what are you going to do about the car after bankruptcy.  The car on which you still owe money and need to get to work. In the midst […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works Tagged With: 2016

How To Spend Money Before Filing Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

checks float before bankruptcy

Trying to spend down cash before filing bankruptcy? It’s time to talk about the float. Not the root beer float, though that would be more fun. The bank “float”:  the period between writing a check and it clearing your bank. (We’ll talk about what to spend on before filing bankruptcy, too). When you file bankruptcy, […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works

Pay Off Credit Cards Without Interest And Be Debt Free

By Cathy Moran

The  sixtyish client sitting in my office had assets worth 10 times his credit card debt. What could bankruptcy possibly do for someone who was solvent? His problem was liquidity and an income that was certain to decline in the next few years. His generous disability income would end at 65, leaving him with only […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works, True Stories

Six Tips For A Worry-Free Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

Your bankruptcy case is filed. But what happens after your bankruptcy is filed? After you’ve assembled all the paper, after you’ve answered endless lawyer questions, and after you’ve filed all the bankruptcy schedules in your case with the court, what do you need to do now? Actually, relatively little happens after you’ve filed your bankruptcy. […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works Tagged With: after bankruptcy

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 11
  • Next Page »
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

High Income Earners Pass Bankruptcy’s Means Test

ALERT:   Being above the median income on the means test is not an automatic bar to filing bankruptcy I'm so used to railing against deliberate campaigns of misinformation about bankruptcy that I forget that there's a lot of innocent ignorance out there. Start with "qualifying" for bankruptcy. A very … Read more

More Posts from this Category

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

Categories

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