G is for guaranty in my Bankruptcy Alphabet.? A guaranty is just as much a debt as the bills one incurs directly, yet guaranties are often? forgotten when the list of creditors is assembled. Any time you sign for a debt, yours or someone else’s, you create a legal relationship.? The lender or card…
In my Bankruptcy Alphabet, F is for First meeting of creditors.? Lots of rumors exist about the first meeting; it garners a level of notoriety that it cannot sustain on closer look.? Let’s check it out. The first meeting of creditors is often the only time a debtor has to appear in public in connection…
E stands for exemptions in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Exemptions describe the possessions you get to keep when you file bankruptcy. E could also stand for Exception, since exemptions are the only place in bankruptcy law where the law is explicitly different from state to state. The Bankruptcy Code gave the states the right to prohibit…
“D” is for discharge in my bankruptcy alphabet. Getting a discharge of debts is the goal of most bankruptcies.? The discharge is the court order, issued at the conclusion of a case, that wipes out the filer’s personal liability for most debts that existed when he began the case. Not everything is discharged. The Bankruptcy…
I’ve always assumed that California law excluded from income debt forgiven in bankruptcy, just as federal tax law does. When a client asked me to confirm that the treatment was the same, I realized that this was one of those things I had just assumed.? As a lawyer, I ought to know the danger…
Counseling, delivered by an approved provider, before the bankruptcy case is filed, is now a requirement enforceable by dismissal of the case. That’s my “C” word in the bankruptcy alphabet. Prebankruptcy counseling is supposed to insert an objective third party between the beleaguered individual who needs relief and the greedy lawyer who, according to…
Business is my bankruptcy “B’ word.?? Business debt of the individual filing bankruptcy is dischargeable just as other personal debt. In Silicon Valley, the very innovation and risk taking that makes the Valley vibrant brings with it the risks of not making it in the marketplace.? Bankruptcy can be the “do over” vehicle freeing manpower…
In my bankruptcy alphabet,? “A” is for Assume. Clients assume all kinds of things, most of them incorrect, and invariably more horrific than the truth. People assume that ?they lose everything in bankruptcy. They assume that the court controls their finances. They assume they have to justify filing bankruptcy. They assume they”ll never get credit…
The median income for California families used in bankruptcy’s infamous means test has fallen.? The change is based on new U.S. Census Bureau figures. Those filing bankruptcy whose income is below the median are excused from the full-blown means test.? In fact, most individuals and families who are above median also qualify for bankruptcy, they…
I saw a? story this week about things that never go on sale ;? I would have put legal filing fees on that list, and I would have been wrong.? Or sort of wrong. Bankruptcy filing fees go up November 1.? Yes, the brokest among us must pay more for the privilege. So, one could…
