Why Can’t I Keep Some Debts Out of Bankruptcy?

Frequently, clients will ask me if we can’t just keep some debts out of bankruptcy–they want to keep a particular debt off the list of creditors when we’re preparing their bankruptcy case. “I just want to keep that one and pay it off,” they say, “so why can’t we just leave it out of the bankruptcy?”

There are actually a bunch of reasons why we can’t leave it out. First, it sometimes surprises people to learn that we’re not making a list of debts you want to wipe out in your bankruptcy case. Instead, we are making a complete list of people and companies you owe money to. The way things work in a bankruptcy case, you get all of your debts wiped out that can be wiped out. The bankruptcy courts don’t have time to go down the list and see which debts you want to keep and which ones you want to get rid of.

The system just requires you to list all of the creditors and then when you get your discharge at the end of your bankruptcy case, those creditors and their debts are wiped out–unless there’s a particular reason under bankruptcy law why that debt won’t be wiped out. For instance, child support, most student loans and many taxes won’t be wiped out in bankruptcy. You still have to list them because they’re debts, but you’ll still owe them after your case is over.

This is not the case for most regular debts like credit cards and personal loans. At the end of your case, they all get wiped out with the discharge. In California and neighboring states (the Ninth Circuit), they get wiped out whether you list them or not–in most cases.

Second, you have to list all your creditors and can’t leave any “out of bankruptcy” because you have to sign under penalty of perjury that you have listed all your creditors and the debts you owe. When you sign under penalty of perjury, it means you understand you can go to prison for not telling the truth. When you sign those bankruptcy papers, you want to make certain that they’re as accurate as possible. If you intentionally leave off a creditor and sign your papers, you have a perjury problem. When perjury becomes an issue, you may have to start looking for a criminal defense attorney rather than a bankruptcy attorney. So be honest and list every creditor and every debt!

Third, when you are asking for bankruptcy protection from the federal government, all of your creditors are entitled to know about it. If you owe someone money, they have a right to know that you’ve filed a bankruptcy case. That’s the case even if you don’t want them to know. Some of my clients feel that the embarrassment of filing a bankruptcy case is more than they can endure and they don’t want anyone else to know. I try to reassure them that most banks, credit unions and credit card companies don’t care a lick about whether you file a bankruptcy case. They’ll close out the account, write it off and move on.

Of course, if the creditor is a family member, the story might be a bit different. Still, my experience has been that even family members usually understand that bankruptcy was a necessary step for you and that you were out of options.

Fourth, even if you kept the debt off the list, the creditor would likely find out about the case and cancel your account anyway. It comes as a surprise to a lot of people that the credit card companies track who files for bankruptcy and compare those names to their list of cardholders. Within a very short amount of time, a credit card company will usually know that you’ve filed a bankruptcy case. They won’t even wait around to get a notice from the court. They just close your account.

Over the years, I’ve had a number of clients call me right after we file their case and complain that they recently paid (without telling their attorney) $1,000 on an account that they were trying to keep out the bankruptcy case–and the credit card company just cancelled their account anyway! I tell them, “Yep, they keep track of who files. And it’s too bad about the $1,000. You could have flushed that money down the toilet and it would have accomplished the same thing! Or you could have used the cash to buy clothes for your kids, fix the car, put it in retirement or any of a hundred other things. But now it’s gone. Sorry. This is why I told you we have to list all of your creditors and debts.”

The moral: You simply can’t choose to keep some debts out of bankruptcy. List all of your creditors! Period!

Memorial Day – Helping Disabled Veterans Wipe Out Debts with Bankruptcy

Coming up on Memorial Day 2013, I was thinking about the many men and women who have given their lives to protect our country. More and more, I feel a growing concern for our former military members who may not have given their lives, but have sacrificed their mental, emotional and physical health in defense of America.

Many soldiers return home from overseas deployment to find that life is not how it used to be–and never will be. The effects of war linger on–sometimes for a lifetime. When you add financial stress into the equation, life can seem unbearable. I have known and been friends with many American soldiers in my adult life. I think it’s about time I do something to protect them, much as they were willing to protect me.

As a bankruptcy lawyer, I think I’m in a pretty good position to help former soldiers who are struggling in the money and debt department. Here’s what I want to do: For the next several months, I’m asking everyone I know to help me track down disabled American veterans who live in California and have financial problems. I would like to meet with them (in person or by phone) and talk with them about their bills and whether they have enough money to pay them. If it’s appropriate, I’ll recommend bankruptcy.

Here’s where I can really help though: I’ll file the bankruptcy case if they qualify–and won’t charge my usual attorney fee! They’ll just have to come up with the filing fee (right now it’s $306). I file bankruptcy cases throughout California, so if I need to travel outside the San Francisco Bay Area, we can talk about travel expenses. But the important thing is that disabled veterans who need to file for bankruptcy won’t have to come up with the couple of thousand dollars that I usually charge my clients.

So, if you know of a disabled veteran with money troubles in California, send them my direction and I’ll see if they qualify. My number is (510) 451-6200 or you can email me at veterans@pixlaw.com.

Hope you had a great Memorial Day 2013. Thanks to all our veterans, especially those who have given of their physical, mental and emotional healthy to protect the United States. God bless!

Dishonest Debtors May Get Nailed in Bankruptcy

Yesterday I talked about how most debtors in the Oakland bankruptcy court never even see a judge. I explained that the bankruptcy system is actually pretty automated so the bankruptcy judges don’t have to get involved most of the time. One time when the bankruptcy judges do get involved is when someone believes that the person filing for bankruptcy has been dishonest.

The Bankruptcy Code provides for a mechanism to “catch” dishonest debtors and make it so some or all of their debts don’t get wiped out. That mechanism is called objection to discharge. If someone is going to gripe about the debtor’s honesty, the griper can either object to a particular debt being wiped out, or object to all of the debts being wiped out. If the judge agrees with the griper, the debtor may find himself still owing one or more debts at the end of his case.

It’s not quite as simple as it may sound. In order to win, the griper has to file a lawsuit, called an adversary proceeding. This is done in the bankruptcy court in Oakland, the same place where the debtor filed his bankruptcy case. The adversary proceeding is connected to the debtor’s bankruptcy case and sometimes the bankruptcy case is put on hold until the adversary proceeding is resolved. The court gives the griper and the debtor time to get information from each other about the alleged dishonesty and eventually there’s a trial.

These types of adversary proceedings are pretty rare. After handling bankruptcy cases for nearly fifteen years, I can still count on one hand the number of times any of my clients have been sued for nondischargeability of a particular loan. It just doesn’t happen very often. And when it does, it’s not at all a sure thing that the griper’s going to win. I’m pretty aggressive when it comes to defending my clients from adversary proceedings. I don’t like them. I don’t like it when creditors try to beat up on my clients. I want to see my clients debt free.

If you’re worried that a creditor might grip about a particular debt that you owe, you should speak with an experienced Oakland bankruptcy attorney about your concerns. The best attorneys in Oakland will be able to give you clear and realistic answers.

Image credit: By V Smoothe (Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Most Bankruptcy Filers Never Even See the Bankruptcy Judge

It sometimes comes as a big surprise when I tell my clients what to expect in their Oakland bankruptcy case and I never even mention a judge. “What a minute! When do we explain our situation to the bankruptcy judge?” they’ll ask. “Never,” is my reply, “or at least almost never.”

Seems kind of like taking a red-eye from San Francisco to New York only to find upon landing that there was no pilot in the cockpit, doesn’t it? Why don’t debtors usually have to tell their story to the judge? The answer, I think, is pretty slick. Gives me confidence that the bankruptcy system has its priorities straight most of the time.

Bankruptcy is actually a constitutional right–or at the very least bankruptcy is discussed in the United States Constitution. The Constitution says that Congress was supposed to set up laws that provided for a uniform system of bankruptcy throughout the states. Congress did that. By setting up the laws, Congress intended to provide a way for the honest but unfortunate debtor to get out from underneath the crushing burden of debt and start over financially. And they wanted the system to work as automatically as possible.

One way they did this is to make it so that honest people who filed for bankruptcy whether in Oakland or San Francisco or San Diego or Tallahassee would be entitled to a “discharge” of their debts as long as they jumped through the right hoops and provided the right information at the right time. In other words, if you do everything you’re supposed to do in your bankruptcy case–and you’re an honest person–you are entitled to a discharge–you have a right to have your debts get wiped out.

Since that’s the case, there’s really no need for a bankruptcy judge even to get involved unless it’s absolutely necessary. And that’s the reality: you rarely see a bankruptcy judge unless something unusual pops up in your case. Nothing unusual means you’ll never even see a judge. Once the required amount of time has passed, and assuming you or your experienced bankruptcy attorney has dotted all your “i”s and crossed all your “t”s, a computer in the clerk’s office generates a discharge order, the clerk mails it out to you–and you are debt free!

Always talk with an experienced bankruptcy attorney about your options and your questions. If you’re in the Oakland area, keep in mind that there are a lot of friendly and capable bankruptcy attorneys. If you can’t come to Alameda to meet with James Pixton, give him a call and let him recommend the best bankruptcy attorney your area to help you out. His number is (510) 451-6200.

You Will Not Lose Your Retirement in Bankruptcy–Usually

One big fear often leads to a nervous question when I first meet with clients: “Will I lose my retirement when I file for bankruptcy?” The short answer, at least in Northern California, is generally no.

The two California exemption lists (lists of what you get to keep after your case is over) both list retirement accounts. This means that your creditors cannot get at your retirement and you will still have it after your case completes.

What’s important to remember, however, if that your retirement account actually has to qualify as a genuine retirement account under federal tax law. Therefore, IRAs, union pensions, private retirement account and similar products are exempt and protected in bankruptcy.

You’ll run into problems, however, if you try to get cute when you have a retirement account and file a case in Oakland bankruptcy court. I have had clients tell me during their first visit to my office that they have a retirement account. When I ask further questions and request documentation, I’ll occasionally discover that the clients are actually talking about an investment account. When I question them on it, the response I’ve received is, “Well, yeah, we’re going to use those investments to fund our retirement!” Whoops!

This is kind of like common law marriage in California: there ain’t no such thing! Either your account qualifies under tax law as a retirement account or it isn’t a retirement account. It doesn’t matter if the client intends to use the funds as a retirement account. If the IRS don’t see it as a retirement account, it’s not a retirement account.

If you live in the Oakland area and are considering bankruptcy, you should talk with an experienced bankruptcy attorney about all aspects of your finances. Be sure to make sure you talk about how your retirement is going to be handled.

Image credit: By Fletcher6 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

If You Forget to List a Creditor in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

In Chapter 7, Forgetting a Creditor Is Not the End of World.

Every once in a while, I get a frantic phone call from a former client who has just realized that she forgot to list a particular creditor when we filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy case several years before. “Is it too late to add the creditor?” she’ll ask.

There are two parts to the answer–at least in most chapter 7 bankruptcy cases filed in the Oakland bankruptcy court. The first is that, no, you can’t add the creditor; the second is that even though you can’t add the creditor, it most likely doesn’t matter and the debt has still been wiped out.

How can this be, you ask. It’s one of the wonders of the bankruptcy law as they have been interpreted by the Ninth Circuit, the court of appeals that interprets law for the West Coast states including California.

The simple version is that bankruptcy is intended to help people start over financially. The order at the end of the case called a discharge order indicates that all debts owed to creditors that can be wiped out have been wiped out. It doesn’t say anything about whether the creditors received any kind of notice of the bankruptcy because a discharge doesn’t necessarily require that the creditors receive notice.

Notice to the creditors is necessary for two big reasons. First, so the creditor can have time to object to its claim being wiped out through discharge. Second, so the creditor can have time to file a proof of claim in the case and get paid if there’s any money available to be paid out to creditors. When there is money to be paid out, there will be a deadline for creditors to make their claims. If they miss the deadline, they don’t get paid.

No Deadline in Bankruptcy Case Means No Deadline to Miss

For most regular people in most regular bankruptcy cases in the Oakland and San Leandro area, however, there are simply no assets to be paid out to creditors. What this means is that there is never a deadline for creditors to file their claims. If there’s no deadline to miss, they don’t get hurt if they don’t know about the deadline. That’s the second issue I mentioned above.

If They Can’t Object for Fraud They Likely Can’t Object

On the first issue, creditors are supposed to be notified of a bankruptcy case so they have time to object. The thing about objecting is that they can only object for certain specific reasons. One of the biggest is if they feel the debtor incurred the debt fraudulently. (For instance, they lied on their credit applications and said they were brain surgeons making $500,000 a year–and they really weren’t.) Obviously, most debt is not fraudulent debt so most creditors would have no reason and therefore no ability to object. Again, without a reason to object for fraud, the creditor really hasn’t been harmed by not being told about the bankruptcy case.

Now, lest anyone should get any funny ideas, you need to keep in mind that you are required by bankruptcy law to list all of your creditors in your bankruptcy case. You don’t get to pick and choose. You list all of them and then you sign at the bottom under penalty of perjury that you have listed all of them.

I would not want to be a debtor standing in front of a bankruptcy judge in Oakland (the location of the court for San Leandro and San Lorenzo bankruptcy cases) and explaining why I intentionally didn’t list a creditor. I really would not want to do that. This little tidbit is only for honest debtors who honestly forgot to list a creditor.

Lie in Bankruptcy Case and Go to Prison

Dishonest debtors who deliberately leave out creditors when they file their bankruptcy cases may find themselves wearing bright orange jumpsuits, eating three square meals a day on a tiny tray and learning to get along with a burly roommate named Bubba. None of my clients have been to prison yet and I intend to keep it that way. We disclose all creditors in bankruptcy cases filed by my office!

Always talk to an experienced bankruptcy attorney before you do anything in preparation for a bankruptcy case. I am confident that you won’t regret it.

2013 is a Great Time to Protect Your House by Filing for Bankruptcy

When you file for bankruptcy in California, you are allowed to keep certain property called exempt property. If you happen to own a home with some equity in it (not so common in California these days), you may be able to protect your home with what’s called the “homestead exemption.” On January 1, 2013, the homestead rules changed in some really great ways for California residence who are considering bankruptcy.

Under the new 2013 California exemption laws for bankruptcy, you can protect up to $175,000.00 of equity in your house if you are over the age of 55 and made less than $25,000 if you’re single or less than $35,000 together if you’re married. (There are some other changes as well, but the income issue is all I’m tackling today.) This is a big change from before 2013 when you could only use the max homestead amount if you made no more than $15,000 if you were single or $20,000 together if you were married. This means many low income California residents with equity in their homes may qualify for the largest exemption amount fully ten years earlier now than in the past. That’s a great thing for California homeowners who need to file for bankruptcy.

The homestead exemption is available in both chapter 7 and chapter 13 case. If you love reading legal language, you can read about homesteads straight from the source: When you file a bankruptcy case, it doesn’t matter if you’ve recorded a claim of exemption with the county or not. You get an “automatic homestead” in the bankruptcy as long as you claim it properly in your bankruptcy papers.

You want to be very careful, however, because bankruptcy law and homestead law are both pretty complicated. If you do things the wrong way, you run the risk of losing your home. If you’re looking to protect your house in bankruptcy, you should definitely talk to an experienced bankruptcy attorney before you file.

Image credit : By Pearson Scott Foresman [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Why You Want to File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Early in 2013

Most of my clients have one thing in common: They have almost all put off bankruptcy until there was absolutely nothing else left to try. Bankruptcy was the last thing on their “get out of debt” list, and even when everything else had failed, they still spent months stressing and struggling to find something else besides bankruptcy to fix their problems.

When folks finally do come to my office and we talk through the timeline of a bankruptcy case, they are frequently surprised to learn how quickly a chapter 7 bankruptcy can be prepared, filed and finished. In most cases, the life of the case from filing to discharge (debts are wiped out) is a little over three months.

But here’s another little piece of information that people often don’t realize: When you get your discharge order from the bankruptcy judge and all your debts that can be wiped out have been wiped out, the discharge order actually relates back to the day your filed your case. In other words, if you file a chapter 7 bankruptcy in Oakland Bankruptcy Court on January 2, 2013, and then get your discharge order around April 10, 2013, the order says your debts are wiped out as of the original filing date, January 2nd.

The bankruptcy system is pretty slick in this one area. As you probably know, when you file your case, you are immediately protected by the automatic stay. This means generally that your creditors can’t do anything to collect on the debts you owe. It also means that you don’t have to pay your bills while your waiting for your case to finish up. The automatic stay usually lasts up until the day you get your discharge order at which point you no longer need it because the discharge order says your debts are gone.

What it all comes down to is that for most debtors filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy, that filing date is the last time they need to worry about their creditors calling or suing or otherwise bothering them over a debt. This is why filing sooner in 2013 is probably better than filing later. There are of course some other considerations that come into play like taxes (bankruptcy is actually pretty complicated), so you should consult with an experienced bankruptcy attorney about the proper time to file.

Five Points for Dealing With Bill Collectors in California

This information is only for current and former clients of Pixton Bankruptcy Law. If you are not yet a client of San Leandro bankruptcy attorney James Pixton, you can call for an appointment at (510) 451-6200 x101.

After a client has hired Castro Valley bankruptcy law firm Pixton Bankruptcy Law, one of the big questions James Pixton gets is this: What can I do about the bill collectors phone calls I keep getting?

Here’s the video response from Jim Pixton:

Here’s the transcript:

I love the question, because I love the answer! Five points to keep in mind once you’ve hire Pixton Bankruptcy Law:

When the phone rings and you see on the caller ID that it’s a California bill collector ANSWER IT!
Tell the person on the line that you are filing a chapter 7 or a chapter 13 bankruptcy case.
Tell the person that your attorney is James Pixton at Pixton Bankruptcy Law. (You will hear silence followed by chattering teeth and maybe a whimper or two.)
Tell the person that James Pixton’s phone number is (510) 451-6200.
Once you’re certain they’ve had time to take down that information, say very clearly, “Don’t call me anymore!” and then hang up.

At that point, the bill collectors should put a flag on your file that says “bankruptcy.” With that flag on your file, their computers will start calling my office to bother me rather than calling and bothering you. Let me know immediately if you have any further problems with any of those particular bill collectors.

FREE Bankruptcy Books and Reports for Alameda and Contra Costa County Residents

You are at the right place for bankruptcy information if you live in Alameda, Oakland, Hayward or anywhere else in the East Bay.

I’ve written several books and a bunch of reports about different issues that come up in bankruptcy cases filed in Oakland bankruptcy court. They’re based on years of experience and a lot of client interviews. I noticed that many of the same questions were on the minds of all my clients. My books and reports answer these questions. They’re FREE and you can get them without costs or obligation. You don’t even have to come into my Alameda County office. Just fill out the ORDER FORM at the bottom of this page or click on the links for the individual books, and I’ll send them out to you. You can also call (510) 451-6200 x196 to order.

Bankruptcy Saved My Marriage! A California Guide to Protecting What Matters Most.

Brand new in the Pixton Bankruptcy Law library and intended for couples who are struggling with both their finances and their relationship. Financial struggles are some of the most frequently mentioned issues contributing to divorce in California. This book helps couples take a hard look at their finances and the options that are available for dealing with them. Bankruptcy has saved many marriages! Maybe it can save yours. NOTE: This book also contains sections that discuss how to deal with finances even if the marriage can’t be saved. Free if you live in Alameda, Oakland, Hayward, California, or anywhere else in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Save My House! A Last Second Guide to Foreclosure and Bankruptcy in the SF Bay Area.

This short book explains the timing of the foreclosure process, the different types of bankruptcy, and the basics of a typical bankruptcy case. After you read it, you will be in a much better position to decide what to do if your home is in foreclosure. Free for residents of Oakland, Alameda, Hayward or anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area or California.

Five Big Lies About Bankruptcy: What the Credit Card Companies Don’t Want You to Know!

This book discusses five of the biggest myths out there about bankruptcy. It also gives a short history of how we ended with so many outright lies drifting around in our collective consciousness. The goal of this book is how my clients exhale, relax and focus on the peaceful reality of being debt free without the burden of false facts. No cost if you live in Alameda, Oakland, Hayward or pretty much anywhere in the East Bay. Heck, I’ll mail you a copy if you live anywhere in California!

Ten Dumb Things that Can Torpedo Your Bankruptcy Case in California.

Bankruptcy has been around for a long time. And since the beginning, people have been trying to outsmart the system. The trouble is, in most cases, generations have been trying to keep assets away from creditors. If you can conceive of way to “hide” assets, there is probably a law on the books saying you can’t do it. This book is intended as a warning to my clients about the pitfalls of trying dumb things. But it also explains that while in some situations. giving property to someone else might appear innocent, it can have some nasty and unintended consequences both for the giver and the receiver. Get this book before you talk to any attorney in Hayward, Alameda, Oakland or any other East Bay City.

The Real Estate Professional’s Concise Guide to Bankruptcy in California: How to Make Money and Save Your Bacon.

When someone files a bankruptcy EVERYTHING grinds to a halt. That includes homes sales. Brokers and agents who understand the bankruptcy process can quickly get the wheels turning again if they jump through the right hoops. This book explains how the automatic stay in bankruptcy works, how to work around it, and most importantly, how to get paid. It also discusses traps for the unwary that could have grave consequences for the real estate professionals’ bottom line. This book is intended for professionals in Alameda, Oakland, Hayward or any city in Alameda County or Contra Costa County.

Debt, Bankruptcy and the Elderly: A Guide for California Residents.

In my many years as an attorney, I have counseled a lot of elderly clients. Retirement is supposed to be the golden years. For many them, however, life drifts back and forth between fear and anxiety because of crushing credit card debt. With a fixed income, they often simply don’t have the resources to put food on the table and cover the monthly minimums on the credit cards. Sadly, I have seen so many of my clients who pay their credit cards and then go hungry! I wrote this book so that San Francisco Bay Area residents would be able to quickly understand what bill collectors can and can’t do, what it means to be “judgment proof” and how pension, retirement, 401k and Social Security payments are ALL protected from creditors. I give strategies for dealing with nasty creditors. Finally, I explain that in many cases, elderly folks may not need to file for bankruptcy although sometimes they may choose to do it anyway. If you or someone you care about is elderly and in debt, this book is for you. We mail free to anywhere in California and especially Oakland, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Walnut Creek, Hayward, Fremont or Livermore.

Here’s the Order Form! Fill it out, click “SUBMIT” and start watching the mailbox!

While the US may not be able to file for bankruptcy, most ordinary people can. — Even if the United States can't file for bankruptcy, you most likely can!

Debt and the Elderly | Often Bankruptcy Is Not Necessary.

I have helped out a lot of senior citizens during my time as a bankruptcy attorney in Oakland. More often than not, I don’t file a bankruptcy case for them for the simple reason that they often don’t need one. Instead I help them understand that they often can simply do nothing–and that includes stopping any further payment of creditor card bills. In the United States and in California in particular, we want to protect our seniors a bit more than the younger generations. To do that, the federal and state governments have set up some very strong protections for the elderly.

Your Social Security Checks Are Protected from Your Creditors

The first is this: Social security is protected from pretty much all creditors. (The only rare exception may be the US government and in that case, there still may be options to avoid having your social security check intercepted.) This is important. No creditor, no one you owe money to, no one who is trying to collect on a bill you owe can touch your social security! It is protected. This is true for monthly social security payments you have in your bank account (up to a certain limit) and for your right to future payments of social security.

I make a big point of this because I’ve had lots of scared and beaten down seniors come to my Oakland bankruptcy office frightened out of their wits because a bill collector has been telling them that their kind of debt can’t be wiped out in a bankruptcy, or their kind of debt is fraud so it’s kept out of bankruptcy. Rubbish like that. The problem of course is that my elderly clients aren’t familiar with the law and are often susceptible to the lies of bill collectors.

By the way, California and federal law require bill collectors to be truthful in their communications with the people they are trying to collect from. Violations of federal and state fair debt collection practices laws can subject creditors to fines and punishment. Pensions and other private retirements are also protected from creditors. Keep in mind, however, that these exemptions amounts are not unlimited, so you should probably talk to a knowledgeable Oakland bankruptcy attorney before you make decision about how to deal with creditors.

If Social Security Is Protected, Bankruptcy May Not Be Necessary

So, here’s my important point: Seniors in the Oakland area who are having serious debt problems may not need to file for bankruptcy. Since creditors can’t take their pension or social security, they really can’t do anything to a senior who does not own any real estate. This folks are referred to as being “judgment proof.” In other words, even if a creditor sued and got a judgment against them, the creditor still couldn’t get anything from them. That’s very good news for the elderly and should allow them to sleep better at night.

Beware of Lying Bill Collectors | Just Because They Say It Doesn’t Mean It’s True

Unfortunately, unscrupulous debt collectors might continue to call and harass seniors even knowing that they can’t get anything. Their hope is to create such nuisance that the senior will make some sort of payments just so the collector will quit calling for another month. Again, this probably violates federal and state laws with regard to debt collection. But it also can cause a lot of stress for the senior.

In many cases, the elderly individual may elect to file a bankruptcy case in Oakland just to get the harassing bill collectors to stop calling. I have filed this type of case for many clients. We talk about all the issues I discuss above and I reassure them that if they do nothing, no one can take their retirement or social security. Nevertheless, for their peace of mind they elect to file a simple chapter 7 bankruptcy case and wipe out the debt once and for all. No more debt, no more phone calls.

Order a Free Book on Debt and the Elderly

I have written a book entitled Debt and the Elderly: A Guide for SF Bay Areas Seniors, Their Family Members and Caregivers. It’s available for free to Oakland-area residents who might be considering bankruptc. Just fill out the form below and I’ll send it right out to you. It will answer a lot of questions that seniors or those who care about them or for them are asking these days about debts and bill collectors.

Can I Still Wipe Out Credit Card Debt in Bankruptcy?

Yes, you can! Over the years, a lot of very bad information about bankruptcy has slithered its way into our collective brains and doesn’t seem to want to leave. One of the biggest falsehoods is that bankruptcy no longer wipes out credit card debt. This myth surfaced in a big way in 2005 when Congress passed big changes to the bankruptcy laws. There was a lot of frantic scurrying about and a lot of bankruptcy cases filed because people had it in their heads that credit cards would no longer be discharged (wiped out) in bankruptcy. That wasn’t true then it still isn’t true.

In my Oakland bankruptcy office, I would say that credit cards are one of the number one reasons my clients file for bankruptcy. They have been struggling for years to pay off credit cards with huge interest rates while at the same time trying to put food on the table and new socks and shoes on their kids’ feet. The problem of course is that when hundreds or even thousands of dollars each month goes to credit card interest instead of household expenses, Average Joe and Jane are left with little choice but to pay the basics like clothes, food, gas and insurance with the same credit cards they’re trying to pay off. As many of us know, it’s a vicious cycle.

Again, the short answer is that credit cards can be wiped out in bankruptcy here in Oakland.

A warning: just because credit cards debt can be wiped out in bankruptcy does not means that you can go out and charge up all your cards and then head into an attorney’s office to file a bankruptcy case and wipe them out without any problem. If you make major charges on cards in the months leading up to a bankruptcy filing, the credit card companies may choose to file law suits against you Oakland bankruptcy court and try to convince the court that you made all those charges without any intent to repay. This is considered a type of fraud. If the Oakland bankruptcy judge agrees with the credit card companies, the judge can declare that one or more of your debts does not get wiped out even though you filed a bankruptcy case.

If you are considering bankruptcy, you should be very careful about credit card use. You should also consider speaking with an experienced Oakland bankruptcy attorney about the charges you have already made on your cards.

Oakland-area bankruptcy attorney James Pixton is an expert at deciphering credit card issues and can give you an idea of whether you need to worry about particular accounts or charges. He can also help you come up with a game plan to decrease the likelihood that you’ll have problems if you go forward with a bankruptcy case.

To contact bankruptcy attorney James Pixton, give him a call at (510) 451-6200 x101. You can also fill out the quick form below:

Difference Between Secured Debt and Unsecured Debt and Why It Matters in Bankruptcy

The difference between secured debt and unsecured debt is an issue that I bring up with every single one of my bankruptcy clients here in the Oakland-East Bay area. The basic difference is this: Secured debt involves collateral as well as the obligation of the person who signed the loan documents, while unsecured debt just involves the personal obligation of the person who signed up for the loan. In the United States, the collateral we’re most familiar with in consumer (non-business) situations is either a car or a house.

The idea is that the collateral provides an additional assurance to the lender that it will get repaid what it is owed. For instance, while a bank might hesitate to loan Average Joe $50,000 based only on Joe’s signature, that same bank might be more willing to consider lending the money when it gets to use the new Made-In-America pickup that Average Joe is going to buy with the $50,000. The pickup acts as collateral which means that if Average Joe doesn’t make the payments, the bank can repossess the pickup, sell it and then use the proceeds (the money from the sale) to pay off or at least pay down the loan.

It’s the same with a home loan. The house itself is the collateral for the loan. If the borrower fails to make payments, the bank can begin a process of selling the house called foreclosure. When the house sells in the foreclosure, the bank uses the proceeds to pay off or at least pay down the loan.

So why does this all matter in bankruptcy? Well, bankruptcy wipes out personal liability (an individual’s legal responsibility to pay) on debts, but in most cases, it doesn’t wipe out the bank’s right to go after collateral. That right to go after collateral is called a lien, a french word that means a leash. Basically the bank holds your car or your house by a leash. If you don’t pay, they grab a hold of that leash and yank the collateral out for from underneath you.

[There are, however, times when a bankruptcy can wipe out a lien as well as personal liability. One of those times is when you have a second mortgage or a line of credit on your house and the home has lost a lot of value. If the circumstances are right, you can wipe out that lien in a chapter 13. Click here to learn more.]

So for most unsecured debt, you file bankruptcy, get your discharge and your liability is wiped out forever. You’ll never have to pay on that debt again, the lender can no longer do anything to collect on it. For secured debt, while the discharge wipes out your personal liability, you will still have to decided whether you want to keep the collateral or give it up. If you want to keep it, you will have to continue making the payments. If you don’t want to keep it, you can give the collateral back to the lender that will be the end of it. Since your personal liability has been wiped out in your bankruptcy case, giving the collateral back to the lender means that the lender no longer has any power to collect on that debt from you.

When you meet with bankruptcy attorney James Pixton, one of the things he’ll discuss with you is what you want to do with loans and collateral. If you want to keep the collateral there are a few different options. Go ahead and make an appointment today. Call (510) 451-6200 or fill out the handy form below:

Bankruptcy | Did You Know Rembrandt Filed?

512px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_135 — Rembrandt, the celebrated Dutch painter, filed for bankruptcy at the age of 50.

Rembrandt (1606-1669), the celebrated Dutch painter, filed for bankruptcy in his fifties. Like many of the world’s finest minds and talents, he struggled financially for much of his career.

Rembrandt van Rijn, the celebrated painter, went bankrupt. — Fame did not bring unlimited fortune to Rembrandt.

Considered one of Europe’s greatest painters and printmakers, he remains the pride of Holland. During his life, however, Rembrandt lived large. He spent well beyond his means and demonstrated a lust for expensive art, antiques and rarities. In 1656, at the age of 50, Rembrandt was compelled to file for bankruptcy. Over the course of the next two years, all his paintings and prints as well has his house were sold at auction to pay his creditors.

Because of the way bankruptcy worked back then, he couldn’t thereafter sell his art directly to the public, so he devised a method of skirting the law by selling his work through the intermediary of his son who ran an art business. Rembrandt was famous but he was not financially sound.

In any event, one thing we learn from Rembrandt is that even people with tremendous talent and genius may find themselves unable to pay their bills. Bankruptcy has a stigma of failure, but maybe we should look at it more as a red badge of courage. Many innovators throughout the centuries have put money on the back burner to pursue the wonder of creation. Sometimes it worked and sometimes they had to file for bankruptcy.

Oakland bankruptcy attorney strongly believes that bankruptcy is not a symbol of failure. It is one of the few truly compassionate laws in our current legal system. As a people, we decided a long time ago, that it was appropriate to protect those who are no longer able to pay their bills from the bill collectors.

Oakland bankruptcy attorney has a by-appointment-only office at 1300 Clay Street, Suite 600, Oakland, CA 94612. His telephone number is (510) 451-6200 x101. You can call for an appointment. If it’s an emergency, a same-day appointment is often available. Be sure to ask James Pixton for one of his many bankruptcy-related books.

Richmond Bankruptcy Attorney Explains Qualifying for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a special kind of bankruptcy. Unlike the simple and quick chapter 7, chapter 13 has a set of different and more complicated rules to go along with it. Those who file for chapter 13 often have different goals from chapter 7 filers. A home foreclosure is often in the mix, or possibly a car repossession. Sometimes a huge tax bill is looming. Chapter 13 can protect people from these kinds of creditors and can get them up to five years to catch up or repay some or all of their debts. Again, how much gets paid depends on those complicated rules. An experienced bankruptcy attorney can run the numbers for you and give you more details.

Although chapter 13 is a very versatile tool, Congress decided that they wanted to limit who was allowed to file for chapter 13. They puts some caps on the amount of debt allowed, and set out what type of persons can file. I know those caps served a purpose at some point. The problem is that with the rising cost of living and the larger debt load carried by so many people in the recession, it’s not too difficult to find yourself over the caps and disqualified from bankruptcy.

Right now, the cap for secured debt (debt with collateral like a house or a car) is about $1.08 million. The cap for unsecured debt is about $380,000. For most “consumers” (regular folks who draw a paycheck and work for someone else, these caps are usually not a problem. For small business owners, however, these numbers can cause some problems. A good bankruptcy lawyer can help you figure out if you are bumping up against those caps and might need to consider chapter 11 instead.

There are a couple things to keep in mind about the chapter 13 caps. First, real property that is underwater might be split into a secured part and an unsecured part if the value of the property is less than the amounts of the loans against it. For instance, if you owe $600,000 on your house, but it’s only worth $420,000, the bankruptcy court might look at the debt as $420,000 of secured debt and $180,000 of unsecured debt. If you’re a small business owner and have a couple hundred thousand dollars of unsecured business debt, you could have a problem. Again, an experienced bankruptcy attorney can help you figure this out.

Another thing to understand is that “disputed” or “unliquidated” debt is not counted in the unsecured and secured totals. A disputed debt is one that you say you don’t owe. Say you’re involved in a car accident and it’s not clear who’s at fault. Even though you may have been sued by the other driver, that debt is still disputed because you may or may not owe it. Unliquidated debt is debt that you can’t readily attach an amount to right now. Even if you were clearly responsible for that car accident, you don’t know exactly how much the damages are going to be until a judge or a jury decides. That means it’s unliquidated and doesn’t count in the total for purposes of qualifying for chapter 13.

A final thing to keep in mind about chapter 13 is that the person filing for chapter 13 must be employed or have “regular income.” “Regular income” is kind of a wishy-washy term, but it is clear that “no income” is not “regular income.” So if you have no income, you won’t be able to stay in a chapter 13. With no income, chapter 7 might be a better choice or indeed the only option.

Alameda bankruptcy attorney James Pixton careful analyzes his clients’ numbers to make sure they can file the bankruptcy case that is best for them. Call (510) 451-6200 to make an appointment or email him at james@pixlaw.com.

Why Are People Willing to Come From All Over the Bay Area to File Their Bankruptcy Case With Alameda Attorney James Pixton?

Clients come from all over the Bay Area to Alameda for bankruptcy help.

They come from as far south as Santa Cruz, from as far north as Sacramento, from as far east as Modesto, and from just about every town or city on the San Francisco peninsula or in the East Bay. They all come to Alameda so that bankruptcy attorney James Pixton can file their case for them. Why?

The answer is simple. It’s because James makes his clients feel safe, well-informed and respected. You are already freaking out about the prospect of filing for bankruptcy and have heard the horror stories from people who have no idea what they’re talking about. You’ve had sleepless night because of your finances. You’ve probably have some pretty heated arguments with your spouse about the bills and the bill collectors who won’t stop calling. The last thing you need is a lawyer who makes you feel like you’re an inconvenience.

You won’t get that at all when you meet with James Pixton. He calls himself the Bay Area’s friendliest bankruptcy attorney–and he means it! When you first meet him in his quiet little office in a quiet little office building just off Park Street in downtown Alameda, the first thing you’ll notice is his big, confident smile. One thing that James has learned to quickly explain to his new clients is that that smile is not because he doesn’t care about what’s making them anxious, but because he is excited that things are about to get a whole lot better for his news clients. They’re going to be much happier as a result of bringing James into their lives. He loves assuring new clients life is going to be fabulous once they get into bankruptcy protection.

You probably have a lot of questions that you need answered. The internet is great for finding general information, but sometimes it can be difficult to connect what you find there with the real world situation that will be your own bankruptcy case. What are exemptions and why are they important to me and my family? What happens to my house when I file for bankruptcy? What happens to my car when I file for bankruptcy? What happens to my retirement when I file for bankruptcy? Will my creditors be able to embarrass me or hassle me while I’m in bankruptcy? Who will find out about my bankruptcy? Can I lose my job because of filing a bankruptcy? These are all questions flying through the minds of people in your situation–those struggling to pay the bills and trying to figure out if bankruptcy is the solution. James takes the time answer these questions and to anticipate others that may come up.

What if you forget to ask him something at that first meeting in James’ Alameda bankruptcy office? No problem! Give Jim a call and he’ll be happy to chat with you as much as you need to feel comfortable about the bankruptcy process. Pixton Bankruptcy Law usually handles cases on a flat fee. That means you pay one fee and James represents from the beginning of the case to the end. No hourly billing and no clock watching. Just a friendly bankruptcy attorney looking out for his clients.

What Documents Are Required for Filing a Bankruptcy and Why?

During the course of a bankruptcy case, explains Oakland bankruptcy attorney James Pixton, the debtors are required to disclose certain financial information. The idea is that they need to show all of their financial affairs in exchange for the federal bankruptcy court’s protection and for that all-important discharge order that comes at the end of the case.

Here is a pretty basic list of the documents you’ll have to come up with:

Your last-filed tax return. This means that if you haven’t filed since 1965, that’s the tax return you’re going to have to come up with. If you haven’t filed a tax return in a while, you will definitely want to talk with an experienced Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney about how that will affect your bankruptcy case. In Oakland bankruptcy court, you may find that the trustees are most interested in your returns for the past few years. They’re looking for assets and a non-yet-filed tax return might mean a tax refund for the trustees to pursue.

Your paystubs for the two-month period just prior to the filing of your bankruptcy case. You are supposed to provide these to the trustee in your case. The trustees are supposed to look them over although it’s not too clear to me just what they’re supposed to be looking for. My experience is that trustees do require them, but pay very little attention to them.

Monthly statements for all bank and financials account showing the balances of the accounts as of the date you filed your bankruptcy case. These documents are required for a much clearer purpose. In their quest for assets that they can get a hold and use to pay creditors, the trustees will want to see how much money you had when you filed. Sometimes, a careless debtor will file a case with a significant amount of money in the bank accounts that he is unable to protect completely. Again, this is where an experienced Oakland bankruptcy attorney like James Pixton is vital. You need to make sure that you can protect as much of your money as possible. An experienced bankruptcy attorney means fewer surprises.

Oakland bankruptcy attorney James Pixton’s phone number is (510) 451-6200 x101. He has a by-appointment-only office at 1300 Clay Street, Suite 600, Oakland, CA 94612. His main office is just a few minutes away in beautiful downtown Alameda, California (the East Bay’s best kept secret). Give him a call and come in for a visit.

How Will Bankruptcy Affect My Credit Score?

This is often one of the biggest questions looming in the minds of people who are having trouble paying their bills and are thinking about bankruptcy. It seems like everyone has an opinion–and some of them come from brain-dead idiots who have no business talking about things they don’t understand. See the links at the bottom if you want to see morons at work.

Here’s the first thing I tell people when I meet with them in my Oakland bankruptcy office: Don’t believe the horror stories you hear about the blood bath that results when credit scores collide with bankruptcy. It’s not as bad as the credit card companies would have you believe. That’s the second thing I tell them. Think about it. If everyone knew how quick and simple bankruptcy can be, more people would do it and millions (or billions) of dollars more in credit card debt would be wiped out! The credit card companies don’t want you to know that, so they continue to float boatloads of misinformation out there about bankruptcy. The longer they can keep you from bankruptcy, the more money they can continue to suck out of you even when you can’t afford it.

Here’s the simple truth about the affect of bankruptcy on your credit score:

Chapter 7 stays on your credit report for 10 years although it impacts your score less as time goes on.
Chapter 13 stays on your credit report for 7 years and its impact also lessens with time.
If you currently have stellar credit and file a bankruptcy case, you can expect a large drop in your score.
If you have had trouble paying bills and your credit score is already low, however, a bankruptcy will likely improve your score because it wipes out balances due. You go from owing lots of money to owing no money or very little money.
You can buy a car on credit the day after your chapter 7 is over, and you can buy a car on credit in the middle of a chapter 13 case if you need one! How’s that for surprising?
If you qualify in all other respects, lenders will loan you money to buy a house in as little as 2 years after filing a bankruptcy. Even more surprising?
Bankruptcy law prohibits discrimination in employment due to bankruptcy.
Although credit may be available to you after you file a bankruptcy case, it will most likely be at a higher rate of interest. That’s understandable, but it’s still less expensive than repaying all that credit card debt (that you couldn’t afford to repay anyway)!
The best way to improve your credit score after a bankruptcy is to pay your bill on time for the rest of your life. You plan to do that anyway, right?
As a practical matter, a chapter 7 bankruptcy can drop you score between 200 and 300 points.
According to Bankrate.com, you can rebuild to an excellent credit score (above 750) “within a few years after your bankruptcy case has been discharged.” That doesn’t sound like a bloodbath, does it?

Now, here are some practical thoughts. If you were in my office and talking to me about the effect of bankruptcy on your credit score, I might have this conversation with you:

Client: I am so worried! Won’t bankruptcy kill my credit score?

Me: Well, sure, your score will go down but it will also recover again over time.

Client: But, but…how will I survive if I can’t get credit?

Me: What do you mean when you say, “How will I survive?” Do mean will you die if you don’t have credit?

Client: No, no, no…I mean how will I get by financially if I can’t get credit?

Me: That’s a good question. I’m glad your asking it. OK, so if you had no debts at all and you needed to buy something new, how would you buy it? Would you put it on a card or would you just pay cash for it.

Client: Well, I’d just pay cash for it.

Me: So if you had no bills and you were paying cash for everything, then you really wouldn’t need credit so much, would you?

Client: No, I guess not.

Me: And I’ve already told you that you can qualify for a car loan and a home loan not too after you file, right?

Client: Yes.

Me: OK, now think about this: Right now, you have $75,000 of credit card debt (pretty typical for the San Francisco Bay Area). Do you have the ability to pay that off?

Client: No.

Me: And you want a good credit score so that banks will loan you more money that you will also be unable to repay?

Client: Oh, I see what you mean.

Me: I guess this is the big question to consider: What good does it do to have a great credit score and access to lots of additional credit if you don’t have the ability to pay off the debt you now have?

Client: I never thought about it that way! I kept thinking I needed more credit so I could borrow more. I sound like a drug addict, don’t I?

Me: No, you don’t. But I find it’s always helpful to look at credit and bankruptcy in the right way.

I suppose the final thought I have about credit and bankruptcy is this: People file for bankruptcy because they no longer have the ability to repay their debts. In other words, they file when they have no other choice. What this means is that if you are still making decisions based upon how it will impact your credit score, you may not have reached that point where you have no other choice.

If, on the other hand, you run the numbers and find that you can’t pay rent and utilities and credit card bills–and still have money left to feed the family, your credit score really no longer matters. What matters is putting food on the table and a roof over your kids’ heads. If bankruptcy will help that happen, I can help. Call me at (510) 451-6200 to make an appointment. You can also email me at james@pixlaw.com.

And now, those links I promised. Click here, here, here, or here. Idiots! All of them!

If you want to meet with Oakland bankruptcy attorney James Pixton, you can make an appointment for his office at 1300 Clay Street, Suite 600, Oakland, CA 94612. His phone number is (510) 451-6200 x101. Be aware that the Oakland is by appointment only. There is no staff there and Attorney James Pixton meets clients there only as needed. All paperwork should be sent to his PO box in Alameda, California.

How Does Bankruptcy Stop Foreclosure in Oakland?

Bankruptcy is a very powerful tool that can protect people who are struggling financially. In particular, bankruptcy can help drowning homeowners. What makes bankruptcy so great is really two little words: automatic stay. The automatic stay is a federal (national) law that basically says that your creditors all have to leave you alone the second you file a bankruptcy case.

When you file your bankruptcy case, the automatic stay requires all your creditors so stop doing anything to collect on debts you might owe. This means that they have to stop lawsuits, they have to stop collection phone calls and letters–and they have to stop any foreclosure proceedings. In other words, once you file, they can’t sell your house without first getting the bankruptcy judge’s permission.

Here in Oakland and the East Bay, the bankruptcy judges are pretty friendly towards debtors and try to give them all the protections they’re entitled to under the Bankruptcy Code. They’ll make sure that the foreclosure sale doesn’t happen. If you file your bankruptcy case and then the lender conducts a foreclosure sale anyway, we can get the sale nullified–a fancy way of saying that we get it unwound, as though it never happened.

Keep in mind, however, that this is only the case if you file your bankruptcy case in the Oakland bankruptcy court before the trustee’s sale (foreclosure sale) happens. Alameda bankruptcy attorney James Pixton can stop a foreclosure sale if you call quickly and get in for a consultation.

If you meet and decide to hire James (and he decides to work with you), he can file the case electronically right from his office. This means that he can file a case in the evening or on a weekend when the Oakland bankruptcy court is closed.

The sooner you call Oakland-area bankruptcy attorney James Pixton, the sooner Pixton Bankruptcy Law can help you save your home and get back on track financially. Call (510) 451-6200 today!

Saving My Alameda Home and Saving My Sanity with a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

If You’re Facing a Foreclosure in Alameda, You Should Check Out Chapter 13 in Oakland Bankruptcy Court.

Welcome to Pixton Bankruptcy Law. If you’re facing foreclosure, you’re in the right place. As you’ve come to understand, foreclosure means that your bank lender can take your house and sell it out from underneath if you’ve fallen behind.

If you’re looking for a quick understanding of how the foreclosure process works in Alameda, Oakland, Hayward and the rest of the Bay Area, click here.

If you already understand that the clock is ticking, you know that you need to do something sooner rather than later or you’ll soon be an ex-homeowner. Once that foreclosure sale happens, it’s impossible–or at least nearly impossible–to get your house back.

So what can you do if you’re home is scheduled for auction?

First, you can choose to do nothing. If that’s the case, your home will be gone–either purchased by a new owner or “taken back” by the bank if no one else bids on it.

Second, you can contact the lender directly and try to work out some sort of loan modification. Oftentimes, this can at least delay a foreclosure while you complete the modification application process. You need to be careful, however, because the lender can still go forward with the foreclosure. It isn’t bound to grant a modification and it isn’t required to sit around while you apply for one. The lender may choose to cooperate, but it can take back its cooperation at any time and you’ll be out of luck.

Third, you can sell your house quickly if there’s equity, or you can short sell your house (less quickly) if there’s no equity. Read up on the realities of the short sale here. If you sell the house, your mortgage problems are over, but you also no longer own your home and will have to move elsewhere.

Fourth, you can file a bankruptcy case. Here’s where I come in as an Alameda bankruptcy attorney with tons of experience doing this kind of thing. Your options are usually chapter 7 or chapter 13, two dramatically different kinds of bankruptcy cases. If you live in Alameda and are considering bankruptcy, you need to understand both. On this page we’re going to focus on chapter 13 because that’s the one that will best help you save your home. Click here for more on chapter 7.

Filing a chapter 13 will immediately get you two things: time and peace. You need both in order to figure out how to protect your home. As long as you haven’t recently filed a previous case, the filing of your case creates what’s called the “automatic stay.” This just means all your lenders have to leave you alone and quite trying to collect from you. This applies to foreclosure sales! So your lender can’t foreclose–at least not without first asking for permission from the bankruptcy judge.

Now that you’re protected by the automatic stay, you are in good shape to do a lot. You can complete a short sale if you choose. You can complete a loan modification–or even apply for one after you file! Or, if you just needed time to catch up on your payments, you can start making the mortgage payments again and take up to five years (60 months) to catch up on the missed payments from before the case was filed.

Chapter 13 is not a magic wand that we can wave and permanently fix all your home loan problems. But it is

Bankruptcy Can Wipe Out a Second Mortgage or Line of Credit

Wiping Out a Second Mortgage in Bankruptcy

If you own a home in the Oakland area, you have seen its value decline in the past several years–most likely by hundreds of thousands of dollars. So now you’re wondering how you will ever pay that second mortgage off.

On top of that problem, you’re drowning in credit card bills, back taxes, student loans and a car payment. Welcome to the American Dream–Bay Area style!

Here’s something amazing that can change your life around: A chapter 13 bankruptcy can wipe out a second mortgage forever! That means that you can finish a chapter 13 case and be left with no debt other than a first mortgage on your home! Sweet!

It’s Called Lien Stripping

This whole wipe-out-the-second-mortgage thing is called “lien stripping” because the bankruptcy court strips away the lien on the second mortgage. Lien stripping is permanent. Once you finish the case, the second mortgage is gone forever!

There are a lot of rules that go along with lien stripping, but here are the basics:

You have to file a chapter 13 case; a chapter 7 won’t work.
You have to make monthly payments in a chapter 13 case for a three to five year period (usually five) in order complete the case successfully.
You have to convince the Oakland bankruptcy court that the value of your home is less than the amount you owe on the first mortgage.

If you can do those things, you can wipe out your second mortgage. Pretty incredible! You can save up to $200,000 or more by filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Want to know more? Call Oakland bankruptcy attorney James Pixton at (510) 451-6200 and make an appointment to come in and talk about lien stripping. You can also fill out the form below. We’re serious when we say YOUR NEW LIFE BEGINS TODAY![contact-form-7 id=”138″ title=”Contact form 1″]

Free Consumer Report Reveals Ten Dumb Things That Can Torpedo Your Bankruptcy Case

Before you hire a lawyer and definitely before you try to file a bankruptcy case on your own, you should request this important booklet, “Ten Dumb Things That Can Torpedo Your Bankruptcy Case in the San Francisco Bay Area.” It’s a long title, but a very short and informative booklet.

Oakland bankruptcy attorney James Pixton has written this guide to help consumers understand how careful they need to be in the months and weeks leading up to the filing of their bankruptcy case.

When it comes to bankruptcy in the Bay Area, what you don’t know as a consumer can really hurt you. If you take certain actions, you can unknowingly create a huge headache for yourself once you get a bankruptcy case number.

The bankruptcy trustees in Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose–attorneys and accountants hired by the US government to review your assets and financial situation–can in certain circumstances go after property that you have given or sold to others. In some instances, this is property that you could have protected if you had first sought the advice of an experienced bankruptcy attorney before the property changed hands.

Understanding bankruptcy law about giving away or selling property is vital to a successful bankruptcy case. Request this free guide and you’ll be on your way to a great bankruptcy experience.

Order the guide by providing your name and email address. You’ll get a link allowing you to download the guide.

[contact-form-7 id=”335″ title=”Free Torpedo Report”]

Bankruptcy Helps You Sleep Peacefully!

No More Stress or Jumping When Phone Rings!
How would it be? That is a question you could answer for yourself pretty soon. Imagine being able to buy groceries without worrying about how you’re going to make the car payment. Bankruptcy can help you! Getting school clothes for the kids and filling up the gas tank in the same trip because you now have money in your bank account at the end of the month. Bankruptcy can help you!

Paying the mortgage with a cash advance will be a thing of the past–just a bad memory after bankruptcy. Those late night arguments over the finances with your husband or wife will just end. No more ugly mess to fight about! Bankruptcy wipes it all out!

How would it be? Well, you can find out that it’s a great feeling to be back on your financial feet again. And Pixton Bankruptcy Law can help you find that feeling.

If you live in Oakland, Alameda, Hayward–or anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area–relief is just a phone call (or email) away. (510) 451-6200 or no-debt@pixlaw.com

YOUR NEW LIFE BEGINS TODAY!

Oakland Bankruptcy Lawyer James Pixton Explains Lien Stripping in Chapter 13

A chance to wipe out a second mortgage permanently in chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Something that is not well known is the fact that chapter 13 bankruptcy carries with it the power to eliminate second and third mortgages. Homeowners who are underwater on their first mortgage (loan amount more than home value) can file a chapter 13 bankruptcy case in one of the bankruptcy courts in Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose or Santa Rosa, make all the necessary monthly payments and at the end, get an order from the judge saying that their second mortgage has been eliminated.

In this short video, East Bay bankruptcy attorney James Pixton explains some of the details of lien stripping.

Come in and visit us at our Oakland office right downtown (just two minutes off I-980), and ask us your questions about lien stripping–and anything else about bankruptcy. We are the Bay Area’s friendliest bankruptcy law office!

Oakland Bankruptcy Attorney Talks About Why He Likes His Job

Oakland bankruptcy attorney James Pixton has helped thousands people in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties get rid of their debts since 1999. He has had a hand in saving people’s homes, marriages and sanity. Whether you live Antioch or Pittsburg, Berkeley or Oakland, Newark or Union city, Livermore or Dublin, the chances are good that many of your neighbors have started over financially with the help of PIXTON BANKRUPTCY LAW.

In this short video clip, James talks about what he likes most about his job–and it’s not wearing a tie and going to court! Among other things, James shares about how rewarding it is to be able to tell people at the end of their case that their debts have all been wiped out.

Take a look and then call us for an appointment at (510) 451-6200.

What is a Bankruptcy Trustee and What Does He Do in a Chapter 7 Case?

Bankruptcy trustees are the folks responsible for reviewing each bankruptcy case filed and finding out whether there are going to be any assets with which to pay creditors.

We file most of our cases in the bankruptcy courts in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. Each of these courts has a list of about eight “panel trustees.” These trustees are usually attorneys or accountants although that is not a requirement. When we file your case, a computer randomly assigns your case to one of these trustees.

The trustee receives an electronic copy of all the documents we file in the case and his job is to look it over to determine whether you have assets that can be used to pay creditors. Now before you panic about this, keep in mind that most cases are what we call “no-asset chapter 7 cases.” A no-asset chapter 7 case is one where the trustee looks it over and concludes that there are no assets there that can be collected and used to pay creditors. If the trustee makes this determination, his job is pretty much done.

One the most important events in your bankruptcy is what is called the meeting of creditors or the 341 meeting. This is a reference to section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code. That’s the section that requires all debtors to show up at the local federal building with their attorneys on particular day and answer a short list of questions asked by the trustee. The trustee asks these questions in order to decide whether there are assets to go after. He’s already reviewed your paperwork. Now he just wants to tie up any loose ends.

This meeting with the trustee usually lasts about three to five minutes. Following the meeting, the trustee will usually file a “Report of No Assets” which means that he’s done his research and rummaging and has determined that there are no assets for him to get a hold of. At this point, the trustee usually does nothing further in your case.

So what if the trustee happens to locate an asset in your case that can be used to pay creditors? Again, this is very rare. I have been filing cases for clients for over a decade and I can probably count on one hand the number of “asset” chapter 7 cases. In all but one of those cases, we knew going in that there were assets for the trustee to liquidate. In the one case that came as a surprise, it was when the client decided not to tell me about huge tax refund he was getting. The trustee questioned him about the refund and then went after it. The lesson? Always be up front and honest with your attorney.

OK. So if there are assets, the trustee has powers from the Bankruptcy Code and the federal government that allow him to take property from debtors, sell it and use the proceeds to pay creditors. The trustee gets to keep a percentage of the proceeds and that’s how he makes his living. If the trustee gets enough to pay creditors only a small percentage of what they’re owed, then that’s all they get. If the trustee manages to rustle up enough assets to pay off all the creditors, then he does so and returns any remaining proceeds to the debtor at the end of the case.

Generally speaking, I like pretty much all the trustee’s in the San Francisco Bay Area area. They are polite, friendly and respectful of the debtors. They know you’re nervous and under a lot of stress. They try hard not to do or say anything that will hurt debtors feelings or add to their stress level. Still, keep in mind that the trustee has a job and that’s to collect assets that can go to pay creditors. If the trustee feels like you’re not being honest or forthcoming in response to his questions, you’ll see him get nasty pretty quickly. Although they’re good guys, they have a job to do and they do it efficiently. Our job as debtor and debtor’s attorney is to help him understand your financial situation. If we do that, we’ll get along with him just fine.

Alameda County Residents: Get Ready to Go Debt-Free!

Alameda County bankruptcy attorney James Pixton is offering free half-hour consultations to local residents who are considering bankruptcy. Since 1999, Attorney James Pixton has been helping residents of Alameda and other cities in Alameda County start over through Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases.

During the free meeting, you’ll meet personally with Attorney Pixton, the friendliest attorney in Oakland, Alameda or Hayward, who will carefully discuss your financial options. You’ll learn about the pros and cons of bankruptcy and whether you qualify.

Don’t delay! You can be debt free in a matter of weeks! Give us a call at (510) 451-6200.

But wait! There’s more. If you act now, Pixton Bankruptcy Law will add to your package two years of post-bankruptcy credit report reviews–FREE! That’s right! If you file a bankruptcy case with Pixton Bankruptcy Law, you can ask your attorney to look over your credit report and advise you of items that should be corrected following your bankruptcy discharge. This is a legal service valued at $750 and you get it FREE with a bankruptcy package!

Call us at (510) 451-6200 or email us at debt-free@pixlaw.com! We help people from all over the county: from Berkeley and Oakland up north, to Hayward, Fremont and Union City down south, to Pleasanton and Livermore in the east. We look forward to helping you become debt free!

Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 in an Alameda Bankruptcy?

What’s with all these chapters and what do they have to do with my debts? You’ve been wondering that for years and now you’re going to get the answers straight from the hometown Alameda lawyer’s mouth.

The federal government has a set of laws called the Bankruptcy Code. The Code is divided up into chapters. For some reason, they decided to go with odd chapters only–until they got to chapter 12 (don’t ask). So we’ve got a chapter 1, a chapter 3, and so on up through chapter 13. Chapters 1 though 5 deal with the general stuff in bankruptcy that are common to all the different types of bankruptcy. Alameda residents, Oakland resident, Berkeley residents, or any Alameda County residents who file for bankruptcy are all subject to the provisions of these chapters. In fact, it’s the same set of general rules across the country.

Chapters 7, 11 and 13 are the bankruptcy chapters that talk about the different routes folks can take to eliminate or reduce their debts. For most people, a chapter 11 bankruptcy case is barely a tiny blip on the radar. I’m just mentioning it now and will only say that this chapter is usually for big companies with millions (or even billions) of dollars of debts and assets. Most people in Alameda never need to consider chapter 11.

Chapters 7 and 13 are the ones that regular people care about. Chapter 7 is considered to be just the plain, old, regular bankruptcy. We prepare your paperwork; we file; we handle things with the court, the trustee, the creditors and anyone else who needs handling; and about three months later, you get a discharge order from the judge. The discharge order means that all your debts that can be wiped out have been wiped out.

Chapter 13 is very different animal. It lasts somewhere between three years (36 months) and five years (60 months). During that your case is going, you make a monthly payment to a trustee who then makes monthly distributions to your creditors. Certain creditors, like car lenders and the IRS (of course) get paid ahead of other “lower priority” creditors. Doing the math, you can see that you’d need to make between 36 and 60 payments. At the end of the payment period, the judge issues a discharge order and sends us each a copy here in Alameda, and the rest of your debts are wiped out.

The big question of course is how much your monthly payment is going to be. That’s where Alameda bankruptcy attorney–James Pixton–works his magic. Using years of experience and a razor sharp legal mind, he calculates what bankruptcy law requires you to pay and does everything he can to see that the payments are as low as possible.

So which do you choose? Call (510) 451-6200 right now and make an appointment today with Pixton Bankruptcy Law. You’ll meet with Alameda bankruptcy attorney James A. Pixton at his quiet, cozy office on Oak Street (one street over from Park street) for a free initial meeting. He will talk in detail about the advantages and disadvantages of chapter 7 and chapter 13 and will help you decide which one is best for you.

Remember: Pixton Bankruptcy Law is the friendliest law office in Alameda! You’ll like us–and we’ll like you!

Meet Alameda Bankruptcy Lawyer James A. Pixton

Go To Jim’s Personal Blog »
Attorney James A. Pixton, a resident of Alameda for very long time, personally handles all the bankruptcy cases that come through our office. His experience in the bankruptcy world goes way beyond the time he’s lived in Alameda. In fact, his bankruptcy experience goes way beyond his time in California.

Check out this short video in which James shares what he like most about his job.

During his legal education at Boston College Law School, James got his feet wet as a law clerk for a small bankruptcy boutique in downtown Boston. He was on the bankruptcy moot court team, which meant he liked to argue and he liked bankruptcy. When he graduated from law school in 1996, he made a mad dash for California and has been here ever since.

James’ first job out of law school was working as a law clerk for a federal bankruptcy judge here in California. While working with the judge, he handled thousands of matters, did more research and wrote more legal papers than any single budding lawyer should be subjected to–and he loved every second of it. Bankruptcy was his world. He took notes, he learned from the judge, he watched the lawyers in the courtroom, and he told himself, “That’s definitely what I want to do.”

When he finished his clerkship, James had a job waiting for him in downtown San Francisco at one of those stuffy law firms thirty floors up where every lawyer had eight syllables in his name, followed by Jr. or III or even IV. James represented big bank creditors in big bankruptcy cases. Again he watched and learned from the other attorneys as well as the judges.

Something was missing from James’s lawyering, however, and that missing thing was spending time with clients. Those big banks and the folks who worked for them were nice and all, but James wanted to sit across the desk from regular folks–like the people here in Alameda–and help them solve their problems. He wanted to fight and make a difference for the little guys. He wanted to help people start over.

All that watching and learning gave Alameda bankruptcy lawyer James Pixton an edge. He had seen bankruptcy cases and litigation from the court’s perspective. He saw people lose their homes and he formulated ways to keep that from happening to his clients. He had seen the crushing hand of the banks in bankruptcy case–how inflexible they were. He committed that he would do everything he could to protect his bankruptcy clients from the banks and help them get a fresh start.

In early 1998, Pixton Bankruptcy Law was born in a little office building in downtown Oakland, California, and ever since Alameda’s most aggressive bankruptcy lawyer James A. PIxton has been helping Alameda residents as well as folks from all over Alameda county (Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Emeryville, Piedmont, Hayward, Casto Valley, Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin). Name a city in Alameda county and odds are James has filed a bankruptcy case for someone there.

Alameda’s friendliest bankruptcy attorney, James A. Pixton has handled thousands of bankruptcy matters in his career. He aggressively protects his clients from overbearing banks, collection companies and mortgage lenders. He does not hesitate to go after the worst offenders. In 2011, for example, James filed a motion for sanctions against a bank that refused to leave his clients alone even after they filed for bankruptcy. He eventually obtained a settlement for substantial sum because the bank didn’t want to go to trial and end up with a huge problem when the judge smacked it with punitive damages. We can’t guarantee results, but we are certain that James is up to the task of protecting his clients.

James has conducted several trials both in federal court and in state court. Ask him sometime about representing Berkeley’s famous “blue guy” in a criminal trial and obtaining a mistrial because the jury couldn’t arrive at a unanimous decision of guilty or innocent. Not too long ago, he successfully litigated and obtained a $1.1 million judgment for one of his clients. Again, no guarantees for future cases, but it sure was fun seeing the judge’s signature on the judgment and then calling the client to tell him about it.

The most important part of James Pixton’s bankruptcy practice here in Alameda is the time he spends with his clients. He enjoys meeting new people. He loves coming up with a plan tailored to fix the financial woes of each client or client couple. He makes sure to always have a tissue box ready because sometimes the clients get emotional about a job loss, or a life threatening illness or a divorce. And that’s OK–James is here to help. And he has the experience to get the job done right.

When he’s not meeting with bankruptcy clients in his Alameda office or appearing on their behalf in the Oakland bankruptcy court, James can most likely be found riding his road bicycle on training rides up in the Oakland Hills. In a typical year he might do between 8 and 10 century rides. For all you non-bike nut folks out there, a century is a one hundred mile bike ride–all in one day–just because it’s fun. If he’s not on his bike, he probably playing water polo with his kids. Pixton Bankruptcy Law and Alameda bankruptcy attorney James A. Pixton at supporters of Encinal High School Water Polo. James believes the world would be a better place if everyone would ride more bikes and play more water polo. He also believes that the bankruptcy system makes the world a much better place.

Give us a call at (510) 451-6200 to schedule a no-cost, half-hour meeting with Alameda bankruptcy lawyer James A. Pixton. He’ll meet with you personally and help you decide if bankruptcy is the right way for you to go.

You can also send him an email at james@pixlaw.com. He’ll get right back to you.

Those %&*#! Creditors Won’t Stop Calling!

Bankruptcy in Oakland can stop the harassing phone calls.

“The bill collectors are driving me crazy! How do I make them stop calling? They call me during dinner time. They call my cell phone. They call me at work. Now I’m starting to worry about my job. Maybe the boss will get sick of the calls, too, and just fire me!” Does that sound too familiar?

At Pixton Bankruptcy Law, we know exactly what to do to make the phone calls stop immediately. We can even get the calls to stop before you file a bankruptcy case. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The second Pixton Bankruptcy Law files a bankruptcy case for you in the Oakland bankruptcy court, you receive automatic and absolute protection from your creditors. The calls have to stop. The letters have to stop. The lawsuits have to stop. This protection is called the “automatic stay” and it will be one of your best friends for the next three months (and even longer in a chapter 13).

When the automatic stay goes into effect for you when you file your case in Oakland bankruptcy court, the creditors can get in some very serious trouble if the violate the automatic stay. This basically means that if they do anything at all to try and collect on debt you owe, we can haul them into bankruptcy court and ask the judge to award you money as a punishment. Imagine that! You owe them money and they have to pay you!

At Pixton Bankruptcy Law, we take our clients’ rights very seriously. You are entitled to peace and quiet and we insist that your creditors respect that right. Over the years we have hauled creditors–including banks and check cashing companies–into the Oakland bankruptcy court where they had to explain to the judge why they continued to hassle my clients. In nearly every case, the bankruptcy judge awarded some form of money sanction. I can’t guarantee a money recovery in each case of a violation, of course, but I can promise that I’ll do everything I can to protect you from obnoxious creditors who don’t care about the law.

If you’re ready to be protected instantly from your annoying creditors by filing a case in the Oakland bankruptcy court, give me a call at (510) 451-6200 or fill out the form below and I’ll get a hold of you to set up an appointment.[contact-form-7 id=”138″ title=”Contact form 1″]

Can I Save My Small Business?

I Filed for Bankruptcy! Is My Life Over Now?

Here at Pixton Bankruptcy Law, our Alameda clients often come to our office wondering whether filing a chapter 7 or a chapter 13 will basically destroy their lives. We say with confidence that it won’t. Our clients are often surprised at how upbeat Attorney James Pixton is as he carefully explains to each client how the bankruptcy process works. He absolutely believes that bankruptcy can change his clients’ lives for the better. That’s one of the reasons why James Pixton loves being a bankruptcy lawyer! Give him a call at (510) 451-6200. Listen to his enthusiasm!

So does bankruptcy have any effect on our clients’ lives? Sure, but usually less than they think. Yes, your credit score will take a hit, but then it will start making a quick turnaround once your debts are wiped out. Bankruptcy can stay on your credit report as long a ten years, but that doesn’t mean that you have bad credit for the entire ten years. The older the bankruptcy is, the less impact it has on the score.

Attorney James Pixton keeps in touch with many of his former clients who have gone through bankruptcy. He has seen many of them buy homes only a few years after the completion of their case. Keep in mind, however, that Pixton Bankruptcy has no way to guarantee similar results for all its Alameda clients. We just want you to know what’s possible.

Call us at (510) 451-6200 for a no-cost appointment with Alameda bankruptcy attorney James Pixton. If you prefer, you can email him at james@pixlaw.com. He types pretty fast, so he’ll get right back to you.

Are All Bankruptcy Lawyers Stuffy? No–At Least Not in the Bay Area!

Stuffy? Hardly! Alameda bankruptcy attorney James Pixton has spent a lot of time in the various Bay Area courts over the past twelve or so years of practice and the one thing he’s noticed is that the happiest lawyers seem to be bankruptcy attorneys. James speculates that it has something to do with outcomes. “If you think about it,” he says, “bankruptcy is pretty much the only area of the law where people are so much better off at the end than they were at the beginning. You owe tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars that you can’t pay; you file for bankruptcy; it all goes away.” He continues, “People feel so much genuine relief and they express tremendous appreciation for the help their bankruptcy attorney gives them. It’s very rewarding.”

Bankruptcy seems to attract a particular type of attorney. “From what I’ve seen,” James says, “Some of the friendliest and most compassionate lawyers I’ve met and interacted with are bankruptcy lawyers. Even the lawyers on who represent the banks and other creditors are generally good and pleasant people. They certainly fight for their clients’ rights and goals, but they do it in a very civil way.” According to James, good manners seems to be a hallmark of those who practice in the bankruptcy arena.

One of the greatest aspects of the bankruptcy bar is its collaborative nature. James noticed right from the beginning that bankruptcy lawyers help each other out. “This willingness to work together certainly benefits the clients,” he says. “If I run into a conflict, I can call one of my bankruptcy attorney friends and he can pinch hit for me at a hearing–but only if the clients are OK with it. It usually works out best for them because it keeps their case moving along.” James says he also helps other attorneys when he can.

The local bankruptcy bar is big on improving the quality of practice. Led by peninsula bankruptcy attorney Cathy Moran, the San Francisco Bay Area bankruptcy bar is developing many online resources for new and experienced practitioners alike. “It’s pretty great to have a sounding board on the internet,” reports James. “Every once in a while, I run across an issue with one of my clients that’s unfamiliar and that completely stumps me. I can post the question in one of the bankruptcy attorney forums and within a few hours, I end up with one, two or sometime half a dozens ideas or responses from other attorneys. We help each other, and that in turn helps our clients.

Oh No! They’ve Repo’ed My Car!

Has your car been taken by the repo man? If it hasn’t been sold, we can get it back in most cases. By filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy with Pixton Bankruptcy Law in Alameda, you will get the immediate protection of federal bankruptcy law. This means that a lender and repo man who have repossessed your car will have to give it back and then give you time to catch up on the payments.

That sounds like a pretty good deal doesn’t it? If you call Alameda attorney James Pixton, he’ll give you the details. His number is (510) 451-6200. Did we mention that he’s the friendliest attorney in Alameda, California?

So what makes it possible to get your car back? Well, every once in a while Congress gets things right. When they built the bankruptcy laws, they put in some provisions that require car lenders to step back, leave car owners alone and let them catch up. Federal bankruptcy law is some of the most powerful law in the land–just below the US Constitution (that’s according to the Constitution). When you file for bankruptcy, you bundle yourself up in some strong rights and protections.

Here’s another thing. If you’ve owned your car for long enough, we can often eliminate thousand of dollars from the loan amount by get the bankruptcy judge to allow you to pay what it’s worth rather than what you. Call Alameda’s finest bankruptcy law firm, Pixton Bankruptcy Law and let us give you the details. Our number is (510) 451-6200. We look forward to a cheerful chat with you.

Remember! You’ve got to hurry! If the repo man has done his job and now the car’s been sold, you’re out of luck. When you call us, be sure to tell us that you’ve lost your car and want to get it back. We’ve saved the wheels of a lot of Alameda residents. Saving wheels often means savings jobs. Another reason why we at Pixton Bankruptcy Law love what we do.

Help! My House is Going to Sale! Alameda Foreclosures!

Alameda foreclosures. We can stop a home foreclosure sale in Alameda! Even if it’s right on the eve of the sale! Call Alameda bankruptcy attorney James Pixton now at (510) 451-6200 so you can set up an appointment to meet. Be sure to let us know that a sale date is coming up.

The mere mention of the word “foreclosure” sends a shudder through Alameda homeowners as though an icicle had been dropped down the back of their shirt. In the typical Alameda mind, home ownership is a symbol of success and acceptance. When we buy that house, we have arrived. Here in Alameda, like everywhere else, we take our home ownership very seriously. When that dream is threatened, it’s scary, it’s depressing and it’s stressful.

The recession throughout the United States–and here in the San Francisco Bay Area–has done enormous damage to the dream of home ownership. In Alameda County each month, hundreds of homes go into foreclosure. What this really means is that the home owner has fallen behind on his monthly mortgage payment and the lender has grown tired of waiting for late payments to come in. The lender starts foreclosure proceedings. In another article, we’ll talk about how the foreclosure process works here in Alameda–and throughout California.

If your lender has started the foreclosure process, Alameda foreclosures attorney James Pixton may be able to help you. Even if you’re right up against a sale date, Pixton Bankruptcy Law can in many instances file a bankruptcy case to stop foreclosure and get you some time to breath. Chapter 13 was designed to help Alameda homeowners catch up on their mortgage payments.

If you’re like a lot of the residents of the City of Alameda, you have a pretty hefty mortgage. It doesn’t take much to upset the apple cart. Layoffs, divorce and devastating illness are all contributing factors to foreclosure. When the money gets tights, it’s easy to fall behind on the mortgage, especially here in the East Bay.

Sometimes a homeowner no longer wants to hang onto his house. In that case, a chapter 7 might be a good move. As the busiest bankruptcy attorney in Alameda, James Pixton has the experience to quickly help you understand your options. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can get the homeowner more time to figure out how to exit the home and get into a rented home. Often a chapter 7 is necessary if there’s a second mortgage that doesn’t get paid when the house is sold.

At the Pixton Bankruptcy Law, Alameda attorney James Pixton meets personally with all potential clients to talk over the options. If foreclosure is coming up, James will help you decide whether to keep your house or let it go. James’ job is to help you understand your options and to know what your rights are.

Give Alameda foreclosures attorney James Pixton a call at his office today. (510) 451-6200. Like every other bankruptcy in the Oakland area, he offers a free half-hour appointment. At the end of your meeting, you will have a much better idea of what will work for you and what won’t. Want James does, that other attorneys don’t, however, if provide you with no-cost books and other materials to help you make important decision.

Call the Alameda office of bankruptcy attorney James Pixton soon at (510) 451-6200. Peace of mind awaits you.

Will I Lose My House or My Car if I File for Bankruptcy in Oakland?

Keeping the house or the family car is often one of the biggest concerns on the minds of our clients when they first walk through our office door in Alameda or call us on the phone to discuss bankruptcy. “Will filing for bankruptcy in Oakland leave us homeless and with no way of getting to work?” they ask anxiously.

The short answer is NO! In most cases, people do not lose their home or car just because they file for bankruptcy. They lose them if they are unable to pay for them. That happens even if you don’t file for bankruptcy. It’s the way things work here in Alameda, in Alameda County and throughout California.

Protecting a Home with Bankruptcy in Oakland. In many cases, filing a bankruptcy case can help you either catch up if you’ve fallen behind on your mortgage. In a chapter 13 case, you can get up to five years to get caught up. Chapter 13 was built by Congress to help Americans stay in their homes if they are able to continue making their payments and can catch up on arrears if given time. Many residents of Alameda are currently catching up the mortgage with a chapter 13.

In addition, a little know fact is that chapter 13 can often eliminate a second mortgage. Call Pixton Bankruptcy of Alameda today at (510) 451-6200 to schedule a no cost-no obligation consultation. We can help you decide if chapter 13 will help you save your home!

Protecting a Car in Bankruptcy. The great news is that you can keep your car in either chapter 7 or chapter 13 as long as you can afford the payments. As long as you navigate the bankruptcy system correctly, you’ll keep driving your car. Let Pixton Bankruptcy Law show you the way. Whether you live in Alameda or elsewhere, we know bankruptcy law and we can show you how to protect your car during and after the bankruptcy process.

Here’s another piece of good news: Chapter 13 can often reduce the amount you have to pay on your car. If you’ve owned your car for long enough, we can file a chapter 13 and get you into a payment plan where you pay only what the car is worth instead of what you owe on it. Often, we can save our clients thousands of dollars. Call us at (510) 451-6200 for details.

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In Chapter 7, Forgetting a Creditor Is Not the End of World.

No Deadline in Bankruptcy Case Means No Deadline to Miss

If They Can’t Object for Fraud They Likely Can’t Object

Lie in Bankruptcy Case and Go to Prison

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You are at the right place for bankruptcy information if you live in Alameda, Oakland, Hayward or anywhere else in the East Bay.

Here’s the Order Form! Fill it out, click “SUBMIT” and start watching the mailbox!

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Your Social Security Checks Are Protected from Your Creditors

If Social Security Is Protected, Bankruptcy May Not Be Necessary

Beware of Lying Bill Collectors | Just Because They Say It Doesn’t Mean It’s True

Order a Free Book on Debt and the Elderly

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Clients come from all over the Bay Area to Alameda for bankruptcy help.

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If You’re Facing a Foreclosure in Alameda, You Should Check Out Chapter 13 in Oakland Bankruptcy Court.

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Wiping Out a Second Mortgage in Bankruptcy

It’s Called Lien Stripping

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A chance to wipe out a second mortgage permanently in chapter 13 bankruptcy.

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Bankruptcy in Oakland can stop the harassing phone calls.

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