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Search Results for: do you need to file bankruptcy

What Happens To Cash In Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

keep cash in bankruptcy

How much cash can you keep when you file bankruptcy? It’s not as though you won’t have living expenses after you file bankruptcy. You need to know how you’ll manage and what you’ll have to manage with. Funding that fresh start is what exemptions are all about. We are talking here about California because exemptions, […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: cash, exemptions, money

Planning For Bankruptcy: Keep Your Tax Refund

By Cathy Moran

Getting a tax refund check from the government is usually a great thing. Or at least, if you ignore that the government is returning YOUR money as a tax refund.  You’ve struggled without the money for a year while Uncle Sam used it without interest. But if you’ve filed bankruptcy during the tax year, the […]

Filed Under: Before You File, Taxes

Bankruptcy Discharge Slays IRS Form 1099

By Cathy Moran

form 1099

In a duel between a tax Form 1099 and a bankruptcy discharge, bankruptcy wins every time. The prize?  no tax on debt discharged in bankruptcy. So, if you’ve already gotten your discharge, the creditor’s 1099, with your social security number on it, is no threat. But you do need to file another form to secure […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Taxes Tagged With: 1099, 2019

California Homestead Exemption: The Truth Isn’t What You Think

By Cathy Moran

how california homestead works

“They can’t take my house, whatever happens.  Right?” The young man in my office “knew” how the California homestead works: he insisted that his home was exempt as a California homestead, even if he filed bankruptcy. He “knew” that credit card debt was dischargeable. And that “knowledge” lead to his conviction that , in bankruptcy, […]

Filed Under: Strictly California, True Stories Tagged With: 2018

How Long Does Bankruptcy Take?

By Cathy Moran

Every client filing bankruptcy asks that question: how long will bankruptcy take? Probably, the real question is “when will this be over?” Like so many questions in the law, the answer is “it depends.” From filing bankruptcy to discharge In a Chapter 7, filing to discharge is about four months;  in Chapter 13 it’s three […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights

Bankruptcy Questions Have Few Quick Answers

By Cathy Moran

The caller to my law office kept telling my assistant: I just want to ask Cathy a question. To which my assistant replied:  you need to first fill out our questionnaire and make an appointment. But I don’t want a meeting, I just want to ask a question. At which point, both sides of the call […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, You & your lawyer Tagged With: 2020

The Secret Alternative To Bankruptcy

By Cathy Moran

alternatives to bankruptcy

Looking for the secret alternative to bankruptcy which will solve your debt problems without filing? Why not? Ads for debt settlement companies and do-it-yourself books always promise to reveal the tricks to make your bills vanish for pennies, without resort to bankruptcy. (Isn’t it interesting that these “secrets” are known only by people who want […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Featured Tagged With: 2016, bankruptcy alternatives, debt settlement

5 Things To Do When You Have Been Sued

By Cathy Moran

The ring on the doorbell was a process server. Bingo!  You’ve been sued. Now what? Breathe deeply and work your way through this five step check list.  Then I’ll suggest some options. The details in this post are based on California law. The basic principles of notice, answer, and trial apply everywhere. Scout the territory […]

Filed Under: Debt Collection Rights, Featured Tagged With: garnishment, lawsuit, sued

Find The Right Cure for Your Debt Problems

By Cathy Moran

get out of debt

Get-out-of-debt advice and sales pitches abound. But too few get-out-of-debt gurus tell you that you need a diagnosis of your financial ills before prescribing the cure. Is the stomach ache indigestion or appendicitis? Is it temporary upset or life threatening? The answer makes a big difference in how you treat it. No single prescription for […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2019, get out of debt

Got Tax Trouble? Don’t File Bankruptcy In December

By Cathy Moran

wait to file bankruptcy

Bankruptcy can provide tax relief,  if your timing is right. Tax troubles are at the heart of so many bankruptcy filings.  It makes sense:  bankruptcy is a powerful and predictable tool to get out of tax debt. But filing bankruptcy before the end of the year may fix only a part of your tax problems.  […]

Filed Under: Featured, Taxes Tagged With: 2016, discharge taxes

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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 Much Is My Chapter 13 Payment

Intrigued by Chapter 13, but worried about how much your Chapter 13 payment might be? OK, let's walk through what your payment must be by law and what you want that payment to cover to get a fresh start. Part of the power of Chapter 13 is that you write the plan, with the help of your bankruptcy lawyer. Forget … Read more

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