Thinking Of Filing Bankruptcy? Don’t Give Anything Away.
“I’ll just give my car to my niece.”  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that or something similar from a client about to file bankruptcy.
Sometimes the client has the best of intentions: “she’s about to graduate college and I always promised her a car for [...]

California Homestead Amounts To Increase
Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law new legislation that raises the amounts that can be claimed as a homestead in California.  The law, Assembly Bill 1046 is one of several new pieces of California legislation aimed at protecting homeowners.
Previously, the equity in your home was exempt from execution or in a bankruptcy [...]

Must You Have A Lawyer To File Bankruptcy?
Certainly not!  You have the absolute right to represent yourself.  But, the better question is: “Should you have a lawyer to file bankruptcy?”
Let’s make a list of the pros and cons to have an attorney, starting with all of the reasons not to have one:
1. An attorney will [...]

Can Bankruptcy keep you from getting student loans?
No.  That’s the simple answer.  If the loan is either funded or guaranteed by the government, you can’t be denied your right to get such a loan simply because you filed for, or were a debtor in a bankruptcy.
In most cases, getting loans immediately after filing for bankruptcy [...]

What Happens When A Corporation Or LLC Files A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
A corporation or LLC can’t get a discharge by filing bankruptcy.  That means there will be no final order from the court saying that all of the debts are gone.  So why file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for your company?  My colleague, Russell A. [...]

I often speak with people who have allowed their mortgage company or a credit card company or two to take a monthly automatic payment from a bank account. This is an easy way to keep up on routine monthly payments, but if you are even remotely contemplating bankruptcy, stop the automatic payments immediately.
The debts [...]

The meeting of creditors in a normal consumer Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is often the last thing that the debtor has to do.   There is a debtor education course that has to be finished after the bankruptcy is filed, and it must be completed within 45 days of the meeting, but most debtors get it [...]

My friend and colleague, Brett Weiss, wrote a great post on converting a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  He pointed out a number of good reasons to do it, and a number of benefits.
But what if you’re in a Chapter 7, and get behind in your home or car payments?  Under those [...]

After the paperwork for a bankruptcy is filed, the court will schedule a “meeting of creditors.”  Often referred to as a 341 meeting (because it’s required under Section 341 of the bankruptcy code), this is nothing more than an opportunity for the trustee assigned to the case or your creditors to ask a few questions [...]

Filing bankruptcy usually doesn’t require a court appearance in front of a judge.  It does, however, require the debtor to appear at a meeting in front of a trustee and be questioned about the paperwork filed in her case.  If you file as a married couple, both spouses will have to appear.  Your attorney gets [...]