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We Live In An Economic House Of Cards

By Cathy Moran

I’ve long said to bankruptcy clients that bankruptcy can’t fix an income problem, it can just ameliorate an outgo problem. In the last round of frantic bankruptcy filings a decade ago, one symptom seemed to be that too many families in the Silicon Valley  couldn’t really afford to live a middle class life here. They […]

Filed Under: Featured, Pondering Tagged With: 2018

Are You Better Off With Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

Bankruptcy trends meaningless

Who cares whether bankruptcy filings are up or down? Bankruptcy professionals, certainly. Economists, probably. But if it’s you and your checkbook, you take little comfort that lots of others are filing.  Nor, when everyone else seems to be making it OK  while you flounder, are you reassured. My colleague Wendell Sherk is right about bankruptcy […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights, Pondering

When $400 Emergency Pushes You Over The Edge

By Cathy Moran

emergency expense

  The Federal Reserve reported that 40% of Americans couldn’t meet a $400 emergency without borrowing.  A significant slice of them couldn’t pay it at all. So, a Bloomberg economist devoted his column to deconstructing how the press and political figures, in his opinion, misused that finding. My God. The guy was too caught up in […]

Filed Under: Featured, Pondering Tagged With: 2019

Don’t Brag About What You Saved Unless It’s True

By Cathy Moran

saving spending

It’s a mark of our consumer economy that we use the word save in connection with our spending. I saved $15 on this blouse. That’s well and good for today.  You bought something you wanted, or maybe even needed. But unless you put the savings aside for later, you did nothing more than spend somewhat […]

Filed Under: Featured, Pondering Tagged With: 2018

Is Your Choice Of Bankruptcy Chapters Really Dictated By Your Stuff?

By Cathy Moran

Through my Twitter feed came a link to the pro’s and con’s of filing bankruptcy from the business section of the Chicago Tribune. Good chance to see how non lawyers see my world, I thought. Bankruptcy was all about protecting “stuff”, said the writer, and the choice of chapters is driven by the kind of […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Consumer Rights, Pondering Tagged With: choice of chapters

Google & Me

By Cathy Moran

Google and BankruptcyInBrief share a birthday, I’ve learned. I’m sure you saw the similarities in a flash. The Mercury News reports that Google was founded in 1998, the same year I bought a book and set out to make a web site about bankruptcy. I knew nothing about programming, and less about web design.  But I knew that […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Pondering

Staying Out Of Bankruptcy Trustee’s Crosshairs

By Cathy Moran

Clients who want the benefits of bankruptcy without any change in the way they want to live life have been the theme of my practice lately. This seems to come out when we do a Schedule J budget in a Chapter 13:  they want $300/month in recreation, $1400 in food, and $300 in clothing. While […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Pondering

Vince Lombardi Is To Blame

By Cathy Moran

win-lose

Ever feel like you’re battling your mortgage lender for your life?  Or the life of your home? The unfairness and irrationality of mortgage servicing makes it easy to see the fight as one for your self worth.  Who is comfortable being a victim of incompetent and indifferent institutions toying with your life? I’m equally indignant. […]

Filed Under: Pondering, Real property & mortgages Tagged With: 2016, home loan

Melania Trump Sold The American Dream Short

By Cathy Moran

The infamous Melania Trump speech at the Republican convention shared more than a paragraph or so with Michelle Obama. It shared Michelle’s  aspirational thought that in America, any child with hard work and perseverance can succeed. “The only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Pondering Tagged With: 2016

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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

How To Pay For Bankruptcy When You’re Flat Broke

One of the cosmic ironies of our legal system is that it costs money to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy gets you out of debt only if you have the money to file. The costs of bankruptcy include the filing fee collected by the court; the required credit counseling; and, if you're smart, an experienced lawyer to make sure … Read more

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