Monthly Archives: May 2014

San Jose Bankruptcy Lawyer

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If you are searching for a San Jose bankruptcy lawyer please give us a call toll free at 1-877-963-9543 to schedule a free consultation. All of our consultations are with experienced attorneys that have filed hundreds of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. Our San Jose office is conveniently located at 111 N. Market Street, Ste. 300 San Jose, California 95113. After we schedule the free consultation we will email you our Client Information Form to fill out prior to the consultation. For the consultation we ask that you provide a few recent payments or proof of income, the completed Client Information Form and any other documents you believe will be helpful.

Affordable Required Courses

One the many benefits to retaining us as your San Jose bankruptcy lawyer is the low cost of the required courses. We have negotiated the lowest prices we know of for both courses. The first course, credit counseling, is $5.00 (each, and the second course, financial management, is $7.95 (for a single person or couple). We have heard of some San Jose bankruptcy lawyer charging their clients as much as $100 or more of these courses.

Personal Service

There are many reasons why you should choose us as your San Jose bankruptcy lawyer, but the most important is that we provide you with superior service. We return all phones calls within 24 hours and respond to emails each day. The number one complaint about attorneys is the lack of communication or timely returning of calls. The opposite is true of us. We are constantly following up with our clients to obtain information and remind them of deadlines to ensure the process is smooth and everything is completed in a timely manner.

Retain our San Jose bankruptcy lawyer today.

Retain our San Jose bankruptcy lawyer today.

We Put Your Interests First

A concern you should have is whether your San Jose bankruptcy lawyer will put your interests first or their own pocket book. Whether you qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and if so possibly why filing a Chapter 13 case is in your best interest is a big deal. If the San Jose bankruptcy lawyer you speak with does not regularly file Chapter 7 cases they may not be too familiar with the intricacies of the means test. At the same time, even if you qualify to file a Chapter 7 and discharge of your debts filing a Chapter 13 still might be in your best interest. If you are self-employed or own property that has equity even though you qualify to file a Chapter 7 your might not want to deal with the possible results. Most Chapter 7 trustee’s will make your shut down your business while the case is pending and a Chapter 7 trustee may allege your house is worth more than you think it is. In either situation if you had filed Chapter 13 you would not be dealing with the headaches to resolve these issues. Choosing the right San Jose bankruptcy lawyer is essential to obtaining relief from your debts and moving on with life.

If you are struggling with your house payment, taxes, car payment or credit card debts please give us a call at 1-877-963-9543 to schedule a free consultation. You will find our open and honest approach to filing bankruptcy stress free and refreshing. We also recommend that you speak with another San Jose bankruptcy lawyer.

Can My Workers Compensation Award or Lump Sum Payment be Protected When Filing Bankruptcy in California?

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The short answer is yes, but how much of the workers compensation award or lump sum payment that can be protected depends upon the bankruptcy filer’s other assets as well. California has two different set of exemptions to protect assets from being liquidated in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. In a Chapter 13 case assets are not liquidated, but the equivalent value of the unprotected or unexempt asset are paid to creditors in the Chapter 13 plan as if the assets were liquidated. There are two different ways a California workers compensation award or lump sum payment can be protected under California exemptions.

1. California Civil Procedure Section 703.14(b)(11)(D) Exemption (703 Exemptions)

Pursuant to C.C.P. Section 703.14(b)(11(D) $25,575 of a personal injury award or claim can be protected due to personal injury, including being injured on the job. Even if you already received the award or lump sum payment the funds in your bank account can still be protected if you can trace the source of the funds back to the personal injury award. Be sure to discuss this issue with your bankruptcy attorneys as soon as possible upon being injured at work. California bankruptcy exemptions under C.C.P §703 are most notable for the generous wildcard exemption totaling $26,925.00. This exemption can be applied to equity in a home or any other assets like bank accounts or if someone owns multiple vehicles. The negative of using the 703 exemptions is the limitation on protecting equity in a home. What exemptions are applied really depends upon the individuals assets and potential claims they may have. So in theory, under the 703 exemptions a workers compensation claim, award or lump sum payment could be protected under the 703 exemptions totaling approximately $52,500. This is the combined personal injury exemption plus the wildcard exemption. For this to be true though none of the wildcard exemption could be used to protect money in bank accounts or any other assets, which is unlikely.

2. California Civil Procedure Section 704.160 Exemption (704 Exemptions)

Under C.C.P. Section 704.160 all benefits and claims are exempted or protected and there is not stated limit. So unlike the 703 set of exemptions mentioned above the 704’s provide for in theory protection of an unlimited amount received from worker’s compensation. The catch with using the 704’s is there is no generous wildcard exemption to use on any type of asset. The most common reason bankruptcy attorneys use the 704 exemptions is to take advantage of the generous homestead exemption amounts to protect equity in a primary resident. This set of exemptions allows the following homestead exemptions: Single and no dependents: $75,000; Married or Single with Dependents $100,000; Either Spouse is 65 or older, mentally or physically disabled, $175,000. Now that home values are increasing again which set of exemptions to apply to assets is becoming more and more important.

If you have already received a lump sum payment you need to be able to trace or prove that the funds in your bank account are from the workers compensation award. It would be wise to open a new account for this specific purpose so there is no question where the money came from. Once you comingle the award with normal monthly income and other funds it opens up the argument that the workers compensation award should not be exempt using the exemptions listed above.

Bankruptcy Can Help Pay Back Unpaid Property Taxes in Alameda County and San Mateo County

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Not to get too political, but do we Americans ever really own property in the United States? The structure of ownership is more like a lease from the government that can be increased. I consider my property tax to be a yearly lease payment. I will never really own the house or the dirt under it if it is located in the United States. Anyway, that is another story for another time.

How to Pay Back Unpaid Property Taxes

If you are behind on your property tax payments or have unpaid property taxes in Alameda County or San Mateo County we can help. Yes, your house can be foreclosed on and sold at auction if you do not pay your property taxes. So how can filing for bankruptcy protection help? First of all it will stop any tax sale from taking place. But filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case will not help for too long. Filing a Chapter 7 case will not pay back the missed property tax payments and the taxing authority can ask the court for permission to continue with the foreclosure process.

To repay the property taxes you need to reorganize your debts by filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy that will allow you to spread out the missed payments over 36 or 60 months depending upon your circumstances. For example, if you owe $20,000 in unpaid property taxes they can be paid back at approximately $556 per month (plus interest, the trustee and attorney fees) or approximately $334 per month (plus interest, the trustee and attorney fees). These estimated Chapter 13 plan payments are assuming you do not have any other debts that must be paid back through the plan or have an obligation to pay unsecured creditors if any. This is just looking at if you owed property taxes. Under California law the interest rate should be 18% per annum. If you do not include 18% interest most counties will object to confirmation or approval of the Chapter 13 Plan. Interest is not included in the above estimated payments either. Most Chapter 13 Trustees’ fees average from 5% – 10% of the monthly plan payment. If the Chapter 13 Plan payment is $200 a month, then about $17.00 of the payment goes to pay the Chapter 13 Trustees’ fee. Most Chapter 13 Plans have part of the attorneys’ fees included in the plan so that you do not have to come up with all of the attorneys’ fee prior to the case being filed. In the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California most divisions have a Rights and Responsibilities for that provides the attorneys’ fees that can be charged without having to file a full fee application for approval of the fees by the Bankruptcy Court. If there are $3,000 in attorneys’ fees as part of the plan, approximately $50 of the Chapter 13 Plan payment will go to your bankruptcy attorneys.

Property Tax Foreclosure Sales Do Happen

Not making your property tax payments is no joke. Just ask this poor soul who failed to pay a small amount of interest on her property tax payment. For $6.30 a tax sale was conducted and her home was sold. She was going through some difficult times, but she also did not open her mail and missed a number of notices. See Widow Who Lost Her Home.