The word “bankruptcy” comes from the Italian words for broken bench — banca rotta. In the middle ages, a failing craftsman would bring his work bench to an authority in the town square, who would break it and in so doing, relieve the craftsman of his debts. Bankruptcy is more modern-looking today. Read more »
July 1, 2020
Sometimes you hear that someone makes too much money to file bankruptcy. Anyone can file bankruptcy, but courts will dismiss a bankruptcy case for abuse or bad faith – when you have too many assets to legitimately use bankruptcy to get rid of debt. Read more »
June 28, 2020
Bankruptcy can wipe out federal and state tax debt (which is called “discharging” the tax debt) if several conditions are met. If a case is filed too early, the debtor may go through bankruptcy and still owe taxes on the other end of the process. It’s usually a pretty easy malpractice case if an attorney misses this. Read more »
June 9, 2020
Clients often arrive in my office, panicking, with big problems such as unpaid student loans, huge tax or business debts, and creditors filing liens. They want their problems to go away immediately – rightly so because the stress is terrible. But, for many clients, the only effective strategy is one that will take time. Often lots of it. Read more »
May 6, 2020
There are lots of bankruptcy attorneys out there. Many of them are downright cheap, charging less than $1,000. I routinely charge three to four times more. How could hiring an “expensive” attorney ever make sense? Remember that old saying: “you get what you pay for?” It’s true. Read more »
April 16, 2020
In the past year, there’s been lots of talk– especially by politicians — about millions of personal bankruptcies being triggered by massive medical bills. While this may be true, I’m here to report that I have not had a bankruptcy client whose medical debt topped $100,000. Read more »
April 3, 2020
1. WHICH TYPE OF BANKRUPTCY FITS MY SITUATION – A CHAPTER 7 & 13? There are two kinds of bankruptcies for personal (rather than business) debt. Generally, chapter 7 Read more >>
January 20, 2020
Clients often ask whether they can keep a treasured possession, like a 1968 Camaro, out of their bankruptcy? Technically, no. What Can I Keep? When filing bankruptcy, Read more >>
September 6, 2019
An investor was trying to collect on a note, and called me to help him out: he and a bunch of strangers had loaned $600,000 to a fellow living in the outskirts of Cambria, California. The fellow Read more >>
February 25, 2019
If the government can prove that you “willfully attempted in any manner” to “evade or defeat” a tax, then you cannot discharge that tax debt in bankruptcy. 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(1)(c). Read more >>
September 26, 2014
