San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney consoles those with financial woes

Don’t let financial troubles get you down. Sure, the freedom to file bankruptcy should be liberating enough – so schedule a free consultation with an experienced San Diego bankruptcy attorney today – but sometimes, understandably, it’s just isn’t. Accordingly, I suggest you listen to some classical music or watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (everything’s readily available on the internet, but don’t commit piracy!) and take solace in the fact that lots of people file bankruptcy, and very often those people are famous…and rich, even. Donald Trump has sought bankruptcy protection (many times). Nicolas Cage (not surprisingly, 2010’s busiest man in show biz, it would appear) has a pending bankruptcy matter. PT Barnum filed; so have Kim Basinger, Toni Braxton, Walt Disney, and Francis Ford Coppola (Coppola is actually the uncle of Nick Cage). Breathe. Relax. And know that everything will be okay. The law can’t put you in jail for debt, and, in fact, the law provides you a comfortable easy out. Call us today to talk about it.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney mentions civil litigation with regard to bankruptcy

Getting sued is very often a potent incentive for people to retain counsel and/or file a bankruptcy. This is understandable, especially in light of the fact that lawsuits lead to judgment which lead to garnishment and bank account levies. While consulting a bankruptcy attorney is invariably wise, here are a few facts helpful to you, the lay-person: firstly, you will have thirty days to answer the civil suit. Secondly, answering the suit will significantly slow down the case, especially if you actually fight it aggressively, but there are costs (including lots of time) to bear in defending a civil case. A fee waiver for the answer, however, may be applicable. In any event, you will likely lose the case, and may be exposed to significant additional costs above the mere balance of the credit card (or loan) if you fight the case over the long haul and are doing so just to slow down the creditor’s action. Nonetheless, answering can be a wise tactic, if employed correctly. At some point, however, you will lose and a judgment will issue against you (often by default, though a motion to set aside the default is commonly granted due to the court’s desire to see cases won on their merits rather than via failure of defendants to answer). Once this judgment is in the creditor’s hands, a writ must be generated through a separate court process. This writ, once issued, will then enable the creditor to garnish a wage or levy an account. From the date of service of a lawsuit upon you until the time this can happen will vary depending on the aggressiveness of the creditor and their lawyer(s). You will, however, have some time to react. This is the good news. The bad news is that you might not have as much time as you would like, plus the case itself will likely not be winnable, even if you were to litigate it. Having information about what a civil suit is like can help you decide when you need to file for bankruptcy. Let the bankruptcy lawyer answer specifically, though, how urgent such action is in your particular case. Counseling you on how to address your financial hardships and scares is, after all, what we do.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney discusses traffic tickets....

I just saw a cop give someone a traffic ticket right outside my office window. The thought occurred that if that person was coming in for a bankruptcy consultation right now, would that traffic ticket be something that might be dischargeable through a chapter 7? The answer, quite plainly, is no. Not surprisingly, since it is the government that controls the law, the government is able to write the law in a way which favors the government. Of course, this anthropomorphized view of government fails to consider that humans actually write the law, but since those humans are generally trying hard to tax us and build up the public coffers, the distinction is moot. Big brother gets his, period. Of course, the best plan is to avoid getting traffic tickets at all; the fines can be well into the hundreds of dollars. If you do get one, though, just realize, one way or another, you are going to pay for it, even if you file for bankruptcy.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surround cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney explains the date you file your bankruptcy...

Generally, the date of filing your bankruptcy petition is the most important date. If you buy or sell property after the 341(a) hearing or get a raise, it does not matter: you are filing bankruptcy based on the past, not the future, and what defines what is the past and what is the future is the date of filing. However, as today is the NFL draft and some young kids are about to come into millions of dollars in windfall, there are times when a post-filing intake of money does matter. If you come into money through inheritance or divorce settlement, for instance, within 180 days of the bankruptcy, the trustee is going to need to know this, even if you have already attended your 341(a) first meeting of creditors hearing or your case has been discharged. The duty to report it is yours. Some might take the position that any windfall should be reported, but the law doesn’t say that. Know your rights. Consult a San Diego bankruptcy attorney to learn what yours might be.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney advises on saving your home valuations for a Chapter 13

A small bit of advice for homeowners considering a Chapter 13: if your research – and such research should undoubtedly include a consultation with a local San Diego bankruptcy attorney – into whether bankruptcy is a good option for you includes contemplation of a lienstrip on your second or other junior mortgage, you would be wise to always save (or print and save) the means by which you estimate the value of your home, even if such valuation is conducted on the internet. What I mean is, one of the great benefits of a Chapter 13 is the opportunity to value a junior lien (including a mortgage) as unsecured, and akin to a credit card, provided that junior lien is 100% unsecured; but the means by which you determine if such lien is unsecured begins by figuring out the value of your home. This can be done for free on any number of websites, though the best, most accurate valuation is done by a professional appraiser. When you do this valuation, though, for free or otherwise, you should save whatever document shows the home’s value as prices are subject to massive fluctuations. It is not uncommon to begin a Chapter 13 case where the second mortgage is partly secured only to find that a month later, due to changes in the market, your second mortgage is now wholly unsecured. This would be great for you. The bad situation, though, is where your second mortgage is wholly unsecured yet you delay in retaining bankruptcy counsel and, during that delay, the home value increases to partly secure the junior lien. Now your lienstrip is precluded. Saving a hardcopy of the valuation you conducted might protect you from this second situation, provided you don’t wait too long, of course.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney reminds us of Patriot Day

April 19th was Patriot’s Day, the national day of commemoration of the first battles of the Revolutionary War, Lexington and Concord. The redcoats (or, more formally, the British Army regulars under the command of Lt. Col. Francis Smith, all 700 of them) attempted to seize colonial supplies (presumptively, arms) but we fought back. Making a long story short, we then won the war and, with it, our independence. So, with that in mind, let today be your Patriot Day. Fire no weapon and start no revolution, but get your own independence: financial independence. Your best weapon is a bankruptcy case number. Your strongest ally is knowledgeable, experienced bankruptcy counsel. Many folks died so we could be ourselves, and fortunately so; because, apart from the horribleness that is Yorkshire pudding and the embarrassment that is a tax-supported monarchy, the British do not have so clean and easy a system of bankruptcy as we Yankees. No need to cross the Delaware, just drive on over to Carlsbad. But please, kindly leave your musket at home.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney explains Chapter 13 bankruptcy

A small bit of advice for homeowners considering filing a Chapter 13: if your research – and such research should undoubtedly include a consultation with a local San Diego bankruptcy attorney – into whether bankruptcy is a good option for you includes contemplation of a lienstrip on your second or other junior mortgage, you would be wise to always save (or print and save) the means by which you estimate the value of your home, even if such valuation is conducted on the internet. What I mean is, one of the great benefits of a Chapter 13 is the opportunity to value a junior lien (including a mortgage) as unsecured, and akin to a credit card, provided that junior lien is 100% unsecured; but the means by which you determine if such lien is unsecured begins by figuring out the value of your home. This can be done for free on any number of websites, though the best, most accurate valuation is done by a professional appraiser. When you do this valuation, though, for free or otherwise, you should save whatever document shows the home’s value as prices are subject to massive fluctuations. It is not uncommon to begin a Chapter 13 case where the second mortgage is partly secured only to find that a month later, due to changes in the market, your second mortgage is now wholly unsecured. This would be great for you. The bad situation, though, is where your second mortgage is wholly unsecured yet you delay in retaining bankruptcy counsel and, during that delay, the home value increases to partly secure the junior lien. Now your lienstrip is precluded. Saving a hardcopy of the valuation you conducted might protect you from this second situation, provided you don’t wait too long, of course.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney

I was looking recently at the top places to live in America, just to confirm my suspicion that San Diego ranked at or near the top. I found that CNN Money ranked towns in Colorado, Minnesota, and Nebraska as their top three “winners.” I found it laughable. Somehow, I guess, they failed to include weather in their equation. A second search discovered San Diego among the top 100 places to relocate and another website ranked San Diego the third best place to live (in a study that included larger cities). This is much more reasonable, of course.

The truth is, San Diego is a great place to live. And while I’m sure small-town, Wisconsin is lovely in its own way, nothing really compares to living in Southern California. So, while bankruptcy (as this is a bankruptcy blog, after all) might spark various changes in your lifestyle, it need not cause a change of address. Specifically, bankruptcy yields the benefits of reduced debt (often to $0) and increased focus on your financial management while, even if real estate is owned, almost never has the effect of dislocating people from their homes. Occasionally, it is wise to include real property debt in your bankruptcy, as an intention to surrender the property simply treats the associated debt as it would treat credit card debt: wholly dischargeable and, accordingly, unable to cause you any angst. Laid back living is, after all, what SoCal living is all about. Don’t let debt get you down. Answers and options are out there. Call to find out.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney wonders if it really is "all Greek to me..."

“Regretfully we are bankrupt.” Those famous words were said by a Greek Prime Minister, but despite recent news stories about present Greek economic woes, they were actually spoken by Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis, in 1893, when Greece actually did go bankrupt. Trikoupis, not surprisingly, lost his bid for re-election; and he died a year later. It’s anyone’s guess as to what’s going to happen to current Greek legislators, but it appears as though, happily, Greece might avoid bankruptcy this time around. Fellow European Union finance ministers agreed recently to loan the troubled nation thirty billion Euros at a rate of 5% and the IMF is prepared to offer another fifteen billion. The threat of a Greek bankruptcy had sparked a dumping of state bonds by investors, but a mad rush to liquidate everything appears to have been avoided. The results of such a liquidation, I fear, might have been worse than the releasing of the Kracken. But alas, Zeus (and the Germans) saved the day.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney talks Lakers and Bankruptcy

With no NBA team in San Diego (and our former team being the Clippers, which is barely an NBA franchise, as it is), we pretty much have to lock onto the Lakers as our squad in the playoffs. Or, if you’re like me, you grew up in Los Angeles and went to law school in San Diego, in which case, all you have is the Lakers and there’s no real question about your Lakers fandom. Don’t ask me about my baseball loyalties, though. So, it just strikes me that with the Lakers playing so poorly of late, and basically limping into the playoffs, isn’t it nice that the playoffs present a brand new season? It’s like…a fresh start. And you know what else is like a fresh start? That’s right: bankruptcy.

So, regardless of whether you’ve stumbled and limped into your current financial situation, today can be the dawn of a new beginning, a new season, as it were. The filing of a Chapter 7 can wipe clean your unsecured debts in one (fairly) quick maneuver, like Kobe driving to the basket.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney fulfills a taxing need to discuss topics that are mostly federal....

In case you hadn't noticed, tax day is here. That said, this bankruptcy attorney thought it a good time to remember that the laws which govern bankruptcy are also federal in nature, despite the fact that the exemption statutes (CCP §703 and CCP §704) which govern how a debtor keeps his or her property are state-specific. You should think of bankruptcy as the domain of the government of the United States of America, not uniquely California. The people that make and change the laws regarding bankruptcy are Senators and members of the House of Representatives. They live in Washington D.C., not Sacramento. Challenges to the bankruptcy code are heard in federal court, not the local municipal variety where you may pay your traffic ticket. Fraud and other crime related to bankruptcy are investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not the local Sheriff, though a state-prosecuted criminal charge for fraud can be used in bankruptcy proceedings to preclude the discharge of debt associated with that fraudulent act.

Specifically, the bankruptcy laws are codified within Title 11 of the United States Code. The Chapter number is (conveniently) linked to the type of relief sought. Thus, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is found within Title 11, Chapter 7; and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy within Title 11, Chapter 13. This makes it easy when reviewing law to figure out what type of bankruptcy is being discussed. Section 707, for instance, deals with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy; and Section 1322 relates to Chapter 13s.

Historically, federal bankruptcy jurisdiction first originated in 1800 when federal district court judges were authorized to appoint commissioners to oversee the discharge of debt. In 1841, Congress granted broad authority to the courts to handle bankruptcy proceedings. The 1898 Bankruptcy Act detailed specific bankruptcy powers and stood as the law on bankruptcy within the United States for 80 years until the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. Another change was made in 1984 and then again, in 2005, with the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act. This law now governs all bankruptcies. Give Sagaria Law a call to see how it applies to you.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney announces new figures as they relate to bankruptcy

The periodic Federal Bankruptcy Code dollar-figure adjustments were announced recently. This is generally a good thing because the changed figures try to account for inflation and the status of the economy; this usually means a rise in permissible (non-abusive) income for the Means Test, making it easier to qualify for Chapter 7 relief, and a rise in permissible amounts of secured and unsecured debts for the debtor seeking Chapter 13 relief. Well, the news is mixed this go-round. For individual debtors (that is, single debtors with no dependents), the average annual income in California dropped $171, though the average income for a family of two or more actually rose slightly around $250 or so (depending on the actual size of the family). For Chapter 13 debtors, the figures increased 7% (to $360,475 for unsecured debt and $1,081,400 for secured debt). Bankruptcy practitioners had hoped these updated Chapter 13 figures would have been higher, echoed by Judge Maureen A. Tighe of the Central District of California who noted recently that “[T]he Chapter 13 debt limits are simply too low for a large number of middle class homeowners in this district, especially where home values have plummeted steeply leaving such large amounts of unsecured debt.” Nonetheless, choosing to view it positively, any increase is a good thing, and opens the door to help more people.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney discusses how economic woes can affect anyone

Undefeated and headed to the national championship football game, University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was named 2009’s winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Of course, “Johnny U” finished his legendary career here in San Diego, playing five games with the Chargers in 1973. Eighteen years later, in 1991, the Pro Football Hall of Famer filed for bankruptcy.

As a San Diego bankruptcy attorney, Sagaria Law understands that financial troubles can affect anyone, even professional athletes. Providing counsel to local residents, we as San Diego bankruptcy lawyers recognize that Southern California has been dramatically impacted by the recent global economic crunch, particularly in the area of real estate. When troubled times arise, it is worthwhile to consider a Chapter 7 liquidation, Chapter 13 wage earner’s plan, or Chapter 11 reorganization, even if you’re unsure about what that may mean. Contact a respected, experienced, and local San Diego bankruptcy lawyer to find out more about your available options.

We San Diegans are keenly aware of issues regarding stadium financing for the Chargers and the finances of former Padres owner John Moores associated with his much-publicized divorce. Economic hardship can hit anyone, anywhere, at any time. Thankfully, relief is available. San Diego bankruptcy attorneys are here to help you when those times come, whether you’re throwing touchdowns yourself, or just watching the pros do it on tv.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney laments on the housing market in Milwaukee....

At least we aren’t Milwaukee – and I don’t just mean that it is warmer here. While San Diego (including Carlsbad, San Marcos, and south) finished tenth in Forbes’ “Worst-Selling Housing Market” survey, Milwaukee finished first…or last, depending on how you see it. The San Diego area has been hard hit since the real estate bubble burst – after peaking in the first quarter of 2006 – due to expansive construction of condominium projects, many of which now sit unoccupied, and a massive influx of speculators. Couple this with the fact that California has been called the “birthplace of subprime lending” (by Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel) and it all adds up to a troubled real estate market. There might be a silver lining in there somewhere, though, if we San Diegans remember how lucky we are to live where we live. What I mean is, a distressed real estate market means home values have fallen. If you home’s value has fallen below what you owe on your first mortgage (assuming you have at least two mortgages or liens secured by your home), then you might well qualify for a “lien strip.” This is a procedure in Chapter 13 whereby the unsecured second (or third) mortgage on your home gets declared “unsecured” and becomes akin to credit card bills or medical debt. And since Chapter 13 is voluntary and does not have a means test component, you are more than likely eligible to get this relief. There are some things that need to be figured out more specifically, of course, but freeing yourself of tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of dollars in secured debt can be a real boon. Call a local San Diego bankruptcy attorney today and we can help answer whether a Chapter 13 lien strip is something that can benefit you. You really have nothing to lose but a considerable amount of debt!

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney Discusses Retaining Common Sports Memorabilia Within A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Do you know how much your Dan Fouts rookie card is worth? And what if it’s signed? Well, some items do have a known market value. Beckett seems to be the go-to source for pricing sports memorabilia. And auction history might also be value-setting (that is, a Honus Wagner card sold for $2.3 million in 2007). But most items – like a Dan Fouts or Kellen Winslow card – are not the hottest of commodities within the memorabilia submarket. So, when it comes time to set a price point on your assets within a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, this San Diego bankruptcy attorney suggests you ask a few friends what they might pay for your random items. Indeed, the value asked for within a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition is akin to “garage sale value.” So, you should know already if you have a Honus Wagner card. But your fourteen different Ladanian Tomlinson cards are no Honus Wagners. Such cards might not even be worth the spokes on a bicycle they may have been placed between.

So, if you are considering a San Diego Chapter 7 bankruptcy and are asking yourself if filing will cause you to lose your beloved sports memorabilia, you should probably not worry too much. Not only can the section-703 wildcard exemptions help protect your property, but the items themselves may not have any real garage sale value. In other words, while Chapter 7 bankruptcy is considered a “liquidation” of your property, your personally-valuable property might not have substantial street value, and, accordingly, will probably be fully protectable.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surround cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego bankruptcy attorney talks about wage garnishment

Having your wages garnished can be both a financial strain and, possibly, an embarrassment at work. Unless you work for a very large corporation where payroll is handled offsite, the human resources/payroll department of your employer may make your very private business all too public. Considering that a wage garnishment is excellent incentive to file bankruptcy, you will – as a result of the garnishment – have less money to retain counsel to assist you in moving that bankruptcy forward. That is, once a bankruptcy is filed, the garnishment should cease, immediately (this is the automatic stay). And once you get the sought-after bankruptcy “discharge,” the underlying debt which spawned the garnishment will essentially evaporate, and you will owe nothing on it (unless the judgment relates to fraud or a personal injury case stemming from a DUI). The lesson, then, is clear: if you are being sued or fear you might soon be sued, any delay in filing a bankruptcy might open the door for a garnishment and, thereby, hinder your ability to thereafter retain counsel to file the bankruptcy, let alone pay for rent, food, gas, etc.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego bankruptcy attorney talks purchasing money

In legal terms, a Purchase Money Security Interest is “the security interest held by the seller of collateral to secure payment of all or part of the price.” Said differently, it’s collateral. Houses and cars are the most common examples: if you fail to make payments on a house or a car, the bank will foreclose on the house or repossess the car. What you may not realize, though, is that a purchase money security interest may apply to your new flat-screen TV or your washer and dryer.

Say, for instance, that you bought a new high-definition television from a major retailer for $1500 and that you paid on some form of credit (not cash). Whether or not you know it, that TV is a purchase money security interest until paid off in full. In other words, if you do not make payments on the credit card, the bank has the right to retrieve the property. Most people do not realize this when they make big-ticket purchases. Next time you do, check your receipt; it will probably be quite a bit longer than a receipt you might get when you buy chewing gum. The long receipt, in fact, spells out how that television is still the bank’s until you pay in full for it.
When you file for bankruptcy and list, as you must, the credit card with which you paid for the TV, the bank will very often contact you (or your attorney) and seek to either recover the property or continue to get paid for it. Be careful, then, buying big-ticket items as a gift because if you do not have access to the property (since it is now in the hands of the gift recipient), the option to have the property returned to the bank is gone. The bank can then ask that the court not allow you to discharge their debt. The court will probably grant that request.

If you still have possession of the property, it is sometimes wise to tell them, “Okay, pick it up.” Usually, after calculating the resale value of the property and the costs involved in retrieving it from your house and storing it, they will do nothing. Sometimes it is wise to work out a payment arrangement with the bank. Most of the time, the bank will ask you to “redeem” the property. This means they want a lump sum for it, albeit at a significant reduction in price. The banks are hesitant to reaffirm the debt (i.e., keeping the payment terms and interest rate as they were) because, in filing bankruptcy, your credit-reliability is low.

Discuss this and other aspects of what happens to your property when you file a Chapter 7 with a San Diego bankrutpcy attorney.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego bankruptcy attorney says Do It Right

If you are going to do it, do it right. While that statement applies to most anything you do, it should seem obvious that it must always apply in a bankruptcy filing. What I mean is, each and every bankruptcy petition in a Chapter 7 liquidation or a Chapter 13 wage-earner’s plan must, by definition, be signed under penalty of perjury. The trustees do not ask if you “think” the facts within the petition are true, the question is pointedly, “are the data provided actually true?” While you will likely avoid criminal charges if your information is provided in good faith, the absolute duty is to have the facts 100% correct, every time. The United States Trustees Office annually provides a review (or audit) of a sampling of cases filed to determine whether petitions are accurate. This year’s report (the link is below) shows that 22% of all filings have at least one error. The Southern Section of California (where local San Diego area bankruptcies are filed) fared slightly better than average with one error in every 18% of petitions reviewed. This number is still sadly too high, as it is nearly 1 in 5. At Sagaria Law, our goal is to have the petitions prepared correctly, the first time, without fail. This serves to not only do what the law demands but also to streamline the process for you, the client, saving you return visits to continued 341(a) hearings and getting that discharge as soon as possible. So, in light of the high number of faulty petitions, the lesson is clear: if you need to file a bankruptcy, consult a San Diego bankruptcy attorney; if you are going to do it, do it right!

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego bankruptcy attorney says don't take his word..

Don’t just take my word for it. I have been posting in this blog for some time now that going bankrupt is often a good choice, so much so that the consequences are far less severe than you might think. This link – written by an Oprah contributor! – echoes my sentiments:

One thing not mentioned in the article is how the growing number of bankruptcies will force lenders to overlook them, to an extent at least. Lenders will be shooting themselves in the foot if they decline to lend to all those millions of people who filed for bankruptcy – filings borne not from financial mismanagement, but due to the collapse in the economy at large, a casualty no one person is responsible for. Find out how bankruptcy can help you. Contact a local San Diego bankruptcy attorney. Your credit recovery will be shorter than you think.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego bankruptcy attorney blogs on trickle down economics...

As I mention often in this blog – including as recently as yesterday – we the citizens feel the effects of a troubled economy last. President Ronald Reagan was an advocate of trickle-down economics (properly known as supply-side economics, though referred to as “voodoo economics” during the contest for the Republican nomination by the man who eventually became his Vice-President, and our 41st President, George Herbert Walker Bush, W’s dad). This model says, in brief, that when the producers and big businesses have economic success, so too shall the little guy – the worker/consumer – as a result of the dollars “trickling down.” I envision seepage of rain into the water table or cells getting fed through capillaries which themselves are offshoots of bigger and bigger arteries. Supply-side economics had many detractors but, macroscopically, it is interesting to note how the model seems to be working, albeit inversely, at least as a broad snapshot of how the worker/consumer is affected when times are tough, like they are today. While signs of recovery might exist, they exist for the economy at large, on the top end. The worker/consumer bottom end is still recoiling. To wit, March 2010 had the greatest number of bankruptcy filings since the 2005 BACPA changes were enacted. Specifically, 149,268 bankruptcies were filed, a 34% increase from the month before. The time to go bankrupt, if one must, is now. And take solace, for you clearly are not alone.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surround cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego bankruptcy attorney remarks on the close of the third quarter...

Well, it’s the end of the first quarter of 2010: time to take stock of the United States’ economy. I’m sure there are naysayers and doom-and-gloom types out there, but things might be looking up. Here’s a link to Newsweek showing manufacturing gains. Manufacturing is a good indicator of the national economy as it serves to indicate the strength and sustainability of any recovery. As this blog consistently notes, however, us end-users are the last to show signs of economic struggles (just as your toes would be the last to feel it if you electrically shocked your neck, like Frankenstein). This means numbers of bankruptcies should still rise for some time. Of course, bankruptcy is a choice worth discussing with your family (and a local San Diego bankruptcy attorney), but consider that the best time to go bankrupt might be just before a sustained national economic growth spurt, as the factors which generally drive people to bankruptcy (loss of income and loss of equity in real estate) swing positively upward during such times.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surround cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!