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Senior Property Tax Assistance Deadline Oct. 15

By Cathy Moran

California has a program to refund a portion of property taxes to qualifying seniors, including those who rent. The deadline for applying for this year’s refund is October 15. To qualify, you must be 62 years of age or older; owned or rented in 2006, and have an annual income less than $42,770 in 2006. […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Lingering effect of allowed claim in bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

My colleague at the Bankruptcy Law Network Karen Oakes talks about some reasons a debtor in bankruptcy may want to object to a claim filed in the case. There is another, a real bombshell, arising out of a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case Siegel 143 F.3d 525. Siegel addressed a post bankruptcy dispute between […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

When to make your move

By Cathy Moran

My colleague Susanne Robicsek wrote about the implications of a state to state move on filing bankruptcy. Where you live and how long you have lived there drive where you file and what exemptions are available. A different issue arises when you contemplate moving from a house that’s been foreclosed to rental housing in the […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Financial worries can make you fat

By Cathy Moran

I wrote earlier that stress is a real and serious threat to physical health that needs to be factored in to the discussion about bankruptcy and the alternatives. Recent studies suggest that stress may also lead to obesity. Individuals in debt tend to see their debts as a financial problem, when those debts are also […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Should I file bankruptcy: hanging on too long

By Cathy Moran

My colleague Brett Weiss echoes my experience with those in financial trouble: they wait far to long to see a bankruptcy attorney. Many have long since passed the point where they can hope to pay off their debt. They have invaded or neglected their retirement savings in a futile struggle to keep up with their […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Taking my own advice Part Three

By Cathy Moran

I can report that the “do not contact” letter works, at least with my creditor, ATT. I wrote earlier about my billing dispute with ATT and how I sent a letter citing California’s Rosenthal Act to ATT telling them not to contact me at home. California’s Rosenthal Act gives consumers many of the rights they […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Loan hype debases the language

By Cathy Moran

My blood boils when I read tripe like this pitch from a lender promoting a debt consolidation loan: it’s not a loan, says the headline, it’s a way out of debt. I’m sorry, but that’s baloney. About sixth grade, I learned that 3+7 and 5+5 both equaled 10. No matter what order the numbers came […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

More seniors file bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

The elderly are a growing percentage of bankruptcy filers. The reasons are myriad: health care costs, inadequate retirement savings, and financial entanglements with family. The trend to market home equity loans as a way to live better makes it less likely the mortgage is paid off when retirement arrives. The question, “Should I file bankruptcy?” […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Incorrect credit reports can coerce payment of discharged debt

By Cathy Moran

Jay Fleischman discusses whether the failure to correct a credit report after a bankruptcy discharge is really a violation of the discharge injunction. I have experienced two very real examples of how the continued reporting of discharged debt shadows a debtor’s fresh start. The first is in the insidious use of credit scores for pricing […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Taking my own advice Part Two

By Cathy Moran

The return receipt on my “do not contact” letter to ATT arrived at my office showing receipt on July 6th. Between July 7 and July 10, we got seven calls at home about the disputed account; on July 12th, we got a call from NCO who announce that the account has been turned over to […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, True Stories, Uncategorized

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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

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

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