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Search Results for: do you need to file bankruptcy

How 13 Works To Save Your House From Foreclosure

By Cathy Moran

save house

Saving a house from foreclosure is the single reason most people file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy stops foreclosure- that’s a given. But then what? How can bankruptcy save the house from foreclosure,  rather than just putting off the inevitable loss? After all, the mortgage lender has a lien on the house, and liens aren’t discharged in bankruptcy. […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Real property & mortgages Tagged With: 2017, chapter 13, foreclosure, keep house, save house

Laboring Over Bankruptcy Papers

By Cathy Moran

Why is preparing the bankruptcy papers so much work? Paper.  Statements. Tax returns.  Car contracts.  Pay stubs.  Appraisals.  Title reports. Credit counseling. It gets tedious fast. So, why is bankruptcy so complicated? Do you want the polite, professional answer, or the pointed, political answer? Bankruptcy bargain Polite answer first:  the bankruptcy bargain, your deal with the […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2016, paperwork, schedules

Personal Assets Can Be At Risk For Your Business Debts

By Cathy Moran

business debts

Business debt can bleed over into an entrepreneur’s personal assets.  Hearing me say that, my client was dumbfounded. He was aghast that the generous equity in the home he and his wife owned was at risk when his corporate business folded. That was not because the shareholder is liable for the corporation’s debts.  A properly […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights, Small business, True Stories Tagged With: 2017

Who Gets To Skip Bankruptcy’s Means Test Entirely?

By Cathy Moran

skip means test

The couple in my office was despondent when another bankruptcy attorney told them that, despite $100,000 in old taxes, they couldn’t file Chapter 7. This fine fellow told them that the means test showed they had $3000 of disposable income per month.  A Chapter 7 would be an abuse of  bankruptcy under the law. Only […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works, Means test Tagged With: 2019, means test

7 Keys To Keeping Your House: Chapter 13 After You File

By Cathy Moran

keep the house

You filed filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy to keep your house and stop the foreclosure.  You’ve protected your home, for the moment. Bankruptcy gets you a sheltered legal environment to address the problems with your mortgage. You heave a sigh of relief. But the fight to keep your house isn’t over, just because there’s a stay.  […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Real property & mortgages Tagged With: 2019, chapter 13, keep the house

Don’t Let Your Bank Pick Your Pocket

By Cathy Moran

The right of your bank to take your money when you aren’t looking stops at your credit card. Your bank may be entitled by common law to setoff what it owes you from what you owe it on the garden variety debt. But the federal Fair Credit Billing Act  forbids a bank who has issued you a […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2015, credit card

Debt Actually Makes You Stupid

By Cathy Moran

It’s easy to tell ourselves that getting into debt was stupid. Maybe, maybe not. Lots of debt happens without making bad decisions.  Think of medical bills. Natural disasters.  Divorce. But regardless of how you got in debt, there’s more bad news. Just being in debt makes you stupid. Stupid, as in, your IQ goes down […]

Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy, Featured

Who Cares About Your Spending Before Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

spending before bankrutpcy

Worried about using credit cards before bankruptcy? Afraid of prejudicing your bankruptcy case by spending money before you file? Do you imagine some authority figure deciding that your financial behavior in the run-up to bankrupcy bars you from relief? Take a deep breath. That’s not how it works. Let’s look at what matters and what […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2024, 341, bankruptcy trustee, credit cards, first meeting

How to get copies of your bankruptcy papers

By Cathy Moran

get bankruptcy papers

When you need to get copies of your bankruptcy papers, there’s a long line of people ready to rip you off. I mean, really rip you off. I’d list the companies prepared to overcharge you, but I don’t want to give them any more visibility than they already have. You may need to get bankruptcy […]

Filed Under: Consumer Rights

When Bankrupting The Business Doesn’t Protect The Owner

By Cathy Moran

“I want to file bankruptcy for my business, but I don’t need a personal bankruptcy”. I’ve had 2 such calls to my law office in just the last week. And in each case, bankrupting the business corporation will not solve the debt situation. Here’s why. The underlying problem is that the individual owner is personally […]

Filed Under: Featured, Small business Tagged With: 2024, business bankruptcy, going out of business, owner liability

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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

Cheat Sheet For Passing Bankruptcy Means Test

The bankruptcy means test has a fatal weakness in its attempt to keep people out of bankruptcy. Like so much recently, it's health care. It's health care, in the future, to be paid before your creditors get any money in your bankruptcy. It works because, in a logic that only Congress could employ, the means … Read more

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