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Discharged Debts Don’t Bar Chapter 20 Lien Strip

By Cathy Moran

Underwater liens that linger after an earlier bankruptcy don’t count in Chapter 13. At least, they don’t count against the unsecured debt limit that restricts entry into Chapter 13, says the 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel in Free. Great news for homeowners for whom Chapter 13 was not initially available because they exceeded the debt limits. […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, How bankruptcy works, Newsworthy, Real property & mortgages

Making Retirement Saving More Expensive

By Cathy Moran

retirement regulation

Congress has taken the first step to bar states from sponsoring inexpensive retirement plans for employees. In the name of cutting regulation, H.J. Res. 66 repeals a regulation allowing states to promote retirement savings with plans of their own devising. The regulation doesn’t require anyone to do anything.  It allows states to experiment with low […]

Filed Under: Featured, Newsworthy Tagged With: 2017

Donald Trumpets: I Didn’t File Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

As much as it pains me to say, Donald Trump was doubly right about filing bankruptcy. He loudly announced at the debate that he had never filed bankruptcy. And, he’d only taken advantage of our laws in filing. Now, he was contemptuous of his creditors and dismissive about what the filings said about his business judgment. […]

Filed Under: Featured, Newsworthy

No Discharge Chapter 13 Effective To Strip Lien

By Cathy Moran

The wait is over; the decision is in. Homeowners in the 9th Circuit can strip off underwater mortgages in Chapter 13 cases even when they aren’t entitled to a bankruptcy discharge, the 9th Circuit BAP has held. Thus, courts have taken another step in the building consensus that the debtor doesn’t have to be eligible […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Newsworthy

Homeowner Beats Loan Servicer On Foreclosure Appeal

By Cathy Moran

California appeals court  slaps down servicer’s attempt to require payment of the entire mortgage loan a condition of homeowner protection. Nice try, Ocwen. But no, says an intermediate California appeals court. Such an interpretation would gut the California Homeowner’s Bill of Rights. Facing foreclosure The facts in Valbuena v. Ocwen  are common:  Ocwen became the servicer […]

Filed Under: Newsworthy

My 7 Favorite Soapbox Posts Of 2014

By Cathy Moran

I tallied the readership’s favorite posts of the year and found the list far different than mine. So here’s the counter-list of my favorite posts of 2014, drawn from material first published this year. Most impactful appellate decision Welsh was decided in 2013, but I talked about it on Soapbox in 2014:  The Most Important […]

Filed Under: Newsworthy

Best Of 2014 On Bankruptcy Soapbox

By Cathy Moran

Here are the ten posts that most intrigued readers of Bankruptcy Soapbox in 2014. Some are new this year, and others are classics from earlier. In reverse order, the ten posts that spoke to you. 10. Six Rotten Reasons Not To File Bankruptcy   Mortgage law attorney Bill Purdy walks through the misguided reasons his clients […]

Filed Under: Newsworthy

Congratulations To Sergio Garcia, New California Lawyer

By Cathy Moran

  Welcome to the California Bar, Sergio Garcia.  Brought to this country as a teen by his father, Garcia is still waiting after 10 years for his green card. Meanwhile, he graduated from university and law school, and passed California’s notoriously difficult bar exam.  But it was unclear whether an undocumented person was eligible for […]

Filed Under: Newsworthy

California Exemptions Increase April 1

By Cathy Moran

Today, April 1, and apparently not a moment before, the Judicial Council has released the new California exemptions reflecting the cost of living adjustments. EJ-156  sets out both the dollar amounts of the California bankruptcy exemptions found in Code of Civil Procedure 703.140 and those CCP 704 subsections where the dollar amounts were increased. Bankruptcy exemptions […]

Filed Under: Newsworthy

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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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