Bankruptcy Law Blog

A man serving an 18-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and money laundering escaped from a minimum security prison in California last week and is still at large. The man, Frederick Darren Berg, who ran one of the largest Ponzi schemes in the state of Washington, was apparently able to…

When faced with overwhelming debt, Chapter 13 bankruptcy exists as a form of debt relief, enacted by the federal government. Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or repayment bankruptcy, is an alternative to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which is often referred to as a liquidation bankruptcy. Individuals with additional monthly income, and who own significant assets are typically better…

Some of the most common questions we hear at our Sacramento bankruptcy office are centered on how bankruptcy affects tax debts. It’s not surprising that individuals want to know how filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy will affect those tax debts imposed by the IRS. The good news is that in certain situations,…

While it may be hard to assign a value to everything you own, the valuation of your property is very important when filing for bankruptcy. When you file for bankruptcy protection, there are several forms to fill out, including the voluntary petition for individuals filing for bankruptcy, which outline your basic information, your debt, contracts…

Much of the anxiety surrounding bankruptcy is a factor of the timing. It is said that timing is everything and nothing could hold truer when it comes to the timing of filing a bankruptcy petition. When filing for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy there are certain situations when it makes sense to file…

In both California Bankruptcy law, as well as Federal bankruptcy law, there is no requirement that says you must have a job in order to declare bankruptcy. In fact, loss of employment, is a contributing cause of bankruptcy in the US. When filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, however, not having stable income may be an…

Many individuals struggle with massive amounts of credit card debt. It typically begins when you miss a payment or two, and then start to fall more and more behind. The interest on the debt rises and before you know it, you have a giant credit card balance and no way to get caught up. Many…

A garnishment is the legal process for collecting a monetary judgment on behalf of a plaintiff from a defendant. Garnishments allow the plaintiff, or the “garnishor”, to take money or property from the debtor in order to satisfy a debt. The most common type of garnishment is a wage garnishment, which is the process of…

We’ve discussed what happens to your primary residence when filing for bankruptcy protection, but what happens to vacation homes in Chapter 7 bankruptcy? Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection can, in many cases, save your primary residence assuming you are able to exempt the equity in the home, or if the amount of equity you have is…

The San Francisco, California based children’s apparel store, Gymboree, was approved to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 7th, 2017. The company plans to cut $1 billion worth of debt and joins the list of retailers such as Payless Shoes that have been able to successfully reorganize company debt using Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In…