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No More Lawsuits On Old Debt In California

By Cathy Moran

law has teeth

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 […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: 2020, California, collection, limitations

Which Spouse Is Liable For Debts In California

By Cathy Moran

liable for debts

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” […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: 2021, California, community property

Whopping exemption for CA 529 college accounts

By Cathy Moran

college saving exemption

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 […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: California, college savings, exemptions

Do You Need To Reaffirm Your Home Loan After Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

refinance 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 […]

Filed Under: Real property & mortgages Tagged With: 2018, California, reaffirm

California’s New Exemptions For Money In The Bank

By Cathy Moran

california cash exemptions\

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 […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: 2021, California, exemptions

What Debts Were Discharged In My Bankruptcy?

By Cathy Moran

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 […]

Filed Under: How bankruptcy works Tagged With: 2016, California

Title Isn’t Everything: Watch Out For The Assets In Your Spouse’s Name

By Cathy Moran

community property surprise

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 […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: 2016, California

Little Time To Spare When Served With A California Lawsuit

By Cathy Moran

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. […]

Filed Under: Strictly California Tagged With: California, collection suit

How Long Til Foreclosure?

By Cathy Moran

time 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 […]

Filed Under: Real property & mortgages, Strictly California Tagged With: California, default, foreclosure, sale

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

When Can I File Bankruptcy Again

Remember the old high school cheer:  two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? Turns out, that's not just a cheer, it's shorthand for the rule on when you can file bankruptcy again. And it points out that when you can file again depends on what kind of bankruptcy you filed last time. Here's how it … Read more

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