Monthly Archives: March 2012

Personal Injury Claims and Bankruptcy

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If you have unfortunately been injured in a car accident, injured at work or at a business you were shopping at you could have a personal injury claim.  So if you have filed a lawsuit or are planning on filing a lawsuit what happens to your personal injury claim if you file for bankruptcy protection with the help of an experienced bankruptcy attorney under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code?

The first issue is do you actually have a personal injury claim?  There have been many attempts to bootstrap other types of causes of action as exempt under a personal injury theory.  For purposes of this article the person filing for bankruptcy was in fact injured in a car accident and suffered damage to their arm requiring surgery.  This hypothetical person is also thinking about suing the person who hit their car and caused the injury.  Unfortunately they are also thinking about filing for bankruptcy since they have not been able to keep up with their credit card payments given that they cannot work as much due to their injury.  This is a personal injury in which the California exemptions can be applied, either Section 704.140 (a-b) or Section 703.140(b)(11)(D).

So if you receive a multi-million dollar personal injury settlement can you keep every penny and still get rid of your debts in bankruptcy?  The answer is it depends.  Under the 703 California Exemptions you can protect a personal injury claim up to $22,075.  This is only for your injuries and not for pain and suffering or pecuniary (financial) loss.  Under the 704 California Exemptions a personal injury claim is exempt up the amount reasonably necessary for the maintenance and support of the judgment debtor’s spouse and dependents.  Which set of exemptions you use will depend upon the nature of the injury and the possible recovery.  If you were unfortunately seriously injured and require around the clock care you will most likely need every penny of a personal injury recovery.  Keeping every penny would be reasonably necessary for your support and maintenance.  The other extreme is if you are in a car accident and merely break an arm and do not have any long-term problems as a result.  If you receive $30,000 somehow it may not all be reasonably necessary for your care and support.

Hopefully you will not be injured so severely that you are entitled to millions of dollars of compensation.  There are personal injury awards that can be protected when filing bankruptcy.  It all depends upon your circumstances at the time you file for bankruptcy protection.  The good news is that there are exemptions to protect personal injury awards and claims.

Affordable San Jose Bankruptcy Lawyer

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Do you need a San Jose bankruptcy lawyer?  We regularly file bankruptcy cases for residents of San Jose and Santa Clara County.  All of our free no obligation consultations last about thirty minutes to an hour.  We offer personal service for a reasonable fee.  We provide personal service by providing you with our direct email addresses for questions or issues.  When you call our offices you will speak with my partner, Kitty J, Lin, or me, Ryan C. Wood.  We have both filed hundreds of bankruptcy cases and we can answer your questions quickly.  Why waste time transferring calls, taking messages or getting wrong answers to your legal questions from non-lawyers.  We believe the most convenient and efficient way to communicate with you is directly.  You will not be dealing with inexperienced and unlicensed legal assistants or uncertified paralegals like at other firms.

The main goal during your free no obligation consultation is to make sure your questions are answered.  If bankruptcy is not right for you for whatever reason we will discuss your options.  Bankruptcy is not always the answer for everyone who had debts.  If you are being sued by a credit card company or behind on your mortgage payments bankruptcy can definitely help.

Bankruptcy is all about your income, expenses and assets.  Bankruptcy in most cases is a quantitative process and not a qualitative process.  Under most circumstances the reasons why you have unfortunately fallen on hard times will not determine whether you qualify to file a Chapter 7 case and discharge your unsecured debts like credit cards, your income, expenses and assets will though.  These are the things we will be discussing during your free consultation.

In 2005 the Bankruptcy Code was changed and the Means Test was created.  The Means Test takes a six-month average of your income, multiples the six-month average by 12 and compares that number to the median income for the number of people in your household for your state.  The Means Test also uses some local standards and some national standards for expenses such as house, utilities, food and other expenses.  One of the problems with the Means Test is it uses the median income for your state.  It really should use the median income for the county in which you live.  There are a lot of counties in most states, so using a median income for counties is probably unmanageable.  It is not perfect, but it is what we have to determine if you have disposable income available to pay back some or all of your debts.

Give us a call toll free at 1-877-9NEW-LIFE (877-963-9543) to schedule your free consultation and find out if bankruptcy is right for you.

Do You Need a San Mateo County Bankruptcy Lawyer?

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Do you need a San Mateo County bankruptcy lawyer?  You have come to the right place, West Coast Bankruptcy Attorneys.  We offer free no obligation consultations to find out if bankruptcy is right for you.  All consultations are with experienced attorney, my partner, Kitty J. Lin, or me, Ryan C. Wood.  We have both filed hundreds of bankruptcy cases throughout the Bay Area.  Please read more about us under “Firm Profile.”

Ms. Lin has practiced exclusively bankruptcy law since becoming a lawyer some years ago.  She has filed hundreds of cases and met with thousands of clients.  I have been involved with all aspects of bankruptcy even while attending law school.  I worked for a boutique creditor’s rights law firm and then began filing bankruptcy cases for small business owners and individuals after obtaining my license to practice law.  I have experience in all aspects of collection law which benefits you as the client.  I also served at the Staff Counsel for David Burchard, the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Santa Rosa and San Francisco Divisions of the United State Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.  This experience also is invaluable.

Our fees are based upon the complexity of your bankruptcy case only.  If you do not own any property, are unemployed or earn less than $3,000 a month you should qualify to file a basic no asset Chapter 7 case.  We also follow the fees guidelines for Chapter 13 cases for all four divisions of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District.  Actually we usually charge less than what is actually allowed in most cases.

When you call us you will either talk to Ms. Lin or myself.  Why waste time transfer calls or having an inexperienced unlicensed legal assistant answer your questions.  Get the answer to your questions immediately.  You will also receive our direct email addresses for questions and communication.  You will see throughout our website, “Personal Service for a Reasonable Fee,” and we live up to it.  We have plenty of testimonials and reviews from happy client’s debt free clients.  That could be you too.

Give us a call toll free at 1-877-9NEW-LIFE (877-963-9543) to schedule your free consultation today.