California law on debt collection finally has teeth. Under new California law, a creditor must allege that the statute of limitations has not run when it files a lawsuit. No more suing on long-dead debt and winning unless the consumer files an answer and pleads the statute of limitations. No more collectors relying on consumers […]
Which Spouse Is Liable For Debts In California
California has been a community property state since 1850, and still we struggle to understand which spouse is liable for debts. So here, broad brush, is a guide to the legal liability of spouses, ex spouses, registered domestic partners and their community property for debt. Because, as I’ve written, the community is a third “party” […]
Whopping exemption for CA 529 college accounts
A substantial new California exemption snuck into law in 2021. It protects 529 college savings accounts from the creditors of parents. The exemption applies in all California collections and to California bankruptcies when the CCP 704 exemptions are selected. The eyeopener is that a parent (or other donor) can contribute the amount of the federal […]
Do You Need To Reaffirm Your Home Loan After Bankruptcy?
Banks, most especially Wells Fargo, seem to relish denying refinance applications for debtors who didn’t reaffirm home mortgage in bankruptcy. You didn’t reaffirm your existing home loan, so we can’t refinance that debt, they chortle. Sometimes, the dig is even more painful (to me at least): your attorney didn’t do this right so you are […]
California’s New Exemptions For Money In The Bank
California has finally created a state law exemption for cash in the bank. Californians filing bankruptcy no longer face loss of all the funds in their bank accounts when they choose California’s generous homestead, thanks to changes in exemption law. Two exemption statutes , new in 2020 , provide protection for cash in the bank […]
What Debts Were Discharged In My Bankruptcy?
After your bankruptcy, one of the hardest questions is figuring out just which debts were discharged. Eliminating debts was the whole point of filing bankruptcy. You’ve got a court order, but no list. You and your creditors understandably expect to find a single document telling them what debts are no longer enforceable and which survive the bankruptcy. No such […]
Title Isn’t Everything: Watch Out For The Assets In Your Spouse’s Name
But it’s titled to my spouse, sputtered the hapless debtor at the bankruptcy hearing. She hasn’t filed bankruptcy. Not so, says the bankruptcy trustee. It was purchased during marriage, wasn’t it? And so, the trouble begins for those who don’t understand community property. Turns out the debtor left out of his schedules the bank account […]
Little Time To Spare When Served With A California Lawsuit
Being served with papers in a California collection suit doesn’t generally help your critical thinking process. In fact, that surge of adrenaline seems to blur the eyes and fog the brain. So when you scan the lawsuit papers and see a date, months down the road, you exhale and set the problem aside for another day. […]
How Long Til Foreclosure?
Everyone who has made the painful decision to let an unaffordable house go to foreclosure wants to know: how long before they have to get out. While the statutory foreclosure process in California , on paper, takes a little more than 4 months, if the the creditor is perfectly efficient, creditors aren’t perfectly efficient. In […]
