So, why is this a crisis? Defaults on student loans can be considered a crisis due to the amount of student loan debt that exists out there. Outstanding student loan debt is up to 1 trillion in the US. Student loan debt has quadrupled since 2003. It has has surpassed auto loans and credit card debt. The sharp shift of debt to student loans happened recently within the past 5 years. Student loans are a serious issue on the table of many of our policy leaders. We can question how this significant increase occurred and how it can be adjusted for in the future, but no policy change is going to get you out of your loans automatically. You need to be proactive in finding a solution. There are many options to negotiate with your student loan lender.

As we have reviewed several times on this site before, the ability to discharge student loans within a bankruptcy is very limited. Technically, it is definitely possible to discharge student loan debt within a bankruptcy. Bankruptcy code allows the discharge of student loan debt under undue hardship. The underlying problem is in the definition of undue hardship. It has been consistently translated as a condition where the bankruptcy filer has no ability to work due to personal conditions, usually medical conditions or disability. So, when an attorney tells you that a student loan is absolutely not able to be discharged in bankruptcy, you can now argue that this is not the case! Bankruptcy code does not actually disallow the discharge of student loan debt, but it does apply a condition that is very difficult to meet.

What can Bankruptcy Law Professionals do to help you with student loan debt? As a debt relief organization and bankruptcy law firm, we have all the tools you need to complete your bankruptcy filing or negotiate your student loans. We can seek forbearance, deferment, consolidation, and discharge for student loans. Whether your loan is public or private, Bankruptcy Law Professionals will negotiate with your lender to provide you with additional options in managing your student loan debt.

Bankruptcy Law Professionals has offices in Orange County, Inland Empire, and Los Angeles County. Bankruptcy Law Pros has our attorneys ready to meet with you and provide you with a free consultation at any of our offices. Our Riverside bankruptcy attorneys and Orange County bankruptcy attorneys have extensive experience in their respective regions. It is key to be as familiar with the court system and the bankruptcy trustees as possible. We are meeting with court appointed bankruptcy trustees on a daily basis. Our experience in OC and Inland Empire is as current as you can get.

Please take advantage of our free consultations by contacting us at (855) 257-7671. We can be reached at anytime. We look forward to hearing from you.

A discharge will eliminate the debt in a bankruptcy, but what if you don’t have the money to start a bankruptcy filing immediately? How do you manage your minimum payments and other debt obligations while you are trying to save money to file your bankruptcy. Do you have to pay your credit card payments in this situation? Planning for a bankruptcy does not give you the legal right to stop making payments to your credit cards, but, if you are looking to file bankruptcy, it is a safe assumption that you are not in a situation to be able to afford to make your payments. Our law office would never advise any of our clients to stop making payments if they are able to afford them, but, then again, most of our clients are in an insolvent financial situation where monthly expenses exceed monthly income. So, if you can afford it, you should try to meet your debt obligations, but if you cannot afford it, do whatever you can to file the bankruptcy as soon as possible while you are not able to make payments. When your bankruptcy petition is filed, you will not need to worry about legal activity while you cannot afford the payments because you will be under bankruptcy protection which will stop all collections activity.

How will continuing to make credit card payments look on your credit report? Continuing to make payments may allow for slightly easier impact on your credit report because there will be less late payment entries on your credit report in general. Although a bankruptcy will impact your credit scores, recovering may come faster after bankruptcy if you have less late payment entries to begin with. Filing for bankruptcy does not mean that you should completely disregard your credit scores. You will be able to start over with a bankruptcy, but you may be able to recover faster after a bankruptcy with less derogatory entries on your credit report.

Contact Bankruptcy Law Professionals to talk with our Riverside Bankruptcy Attorneys or our Orange County Bankruptcy Attorneys. We serve all of the Inland Empire, Orange County, and Los Angeles areas. To get more information on this topic or anything else bankruptcy related, please feel free to contact us at (855) 257 – 7671. Please contact us at the same number to set an appointment with our attorneys or start a phone consultation.

BLP is Inexpensive:
Bankruptcy Law Professionals is usually up to 50% less in cost for consumer bankruptcy services. Contact us to check out price ranges which can be given to you over the phone. We can evaluate your situation and give you a quote on the phone that will accurately reflect what the whole service will cost you when you sign up. There is no bait and switch or added costs down the line. We will tell you exactly what you need to file with us and we will stick to our quoted price.

Free Consultations:
Our initial consultations are always free. You can take advantage of our free consultations to start the process and move forward with your life. Even if you don’t have the money to get your bankruptcy started, a free consultation may provide you with information on when you really need to file your bankruptcy and how we can help you with a payment plan or an emergency bankruptcy for a lower price than a full bankruptcy filing. There may be many options available to you if your attorney learns more about your personal situation and can help you find the best time to file that will fit your income schedule.

Payment Plans:
Payment plans usually need to be completed before a bankruptcy petition is filed. So, if you need to spread out the payment over several months, make sure the law office you are working with will honor your payment plan and make sure you have a solid schedule for when the petition is targeted to be filed. With one-man, sole proprietor law offices, it may be risky to schedule a payment plan because small law offices are less dependable to follow through with commitments. At BLP, we will be working and up to date on your needs all the way until you complete your payment plan and receive a discharge and closure of your bankruptcy file.

Planning Ahead:
Do your homework and learn about the bankruptcy process ahead of time. You can always call into our office to ask questions about things you can do to prepare for your bankruptcy filing. So, in the time that you are saving money to pay for bankruptcy filing services, you can also use our free consultation to learn more about the bankruptcy process to prepare you for what may be coming up ahead.

Bankruptcy Law Professionals has attorneys in Riverside and Orange County to help anyone in need of bankruptcy filing services. Our law office in Riverside helps clients all over the Inland Empire including high desert. Our Orange County office located in Santa Ana is centrally located in OC to help clients in both North Orange County and South Orange County. We can be reached at (855) 257-7671 to schedule a free consultation.

It is important for you to recognize that your post-bankruptcy status is an optimal period of time to continue to improve your finances. Your finances are now in a brand new condition and it will be up to you to maintain it. After your bankruptcy, you will be receiving credit offers. The banks and lenders realize that you have a clean record of debt and will be glad to issue new credit. You now have the ability to maintain the status as much as possible for you and your family’s future. Your next step after bankruptcy is to set a financial goal and start preparing your credit background to help you get there.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN…
• A mortgage or home loan
• A business loan
• An auto loan
• Or any other type of loan which requires a credit check

Complete your bankruptcy with us and the rest of the way towards your financial goals will be a much easier road. Bankruptcy is simply one of the tools you can use to HELP you get to another financial opportunity. A bankruptcy is sometimes seen as the most negative part of someone’s financial life. In reality, our clients tell us that bankruptcy is the best thing they have ever done for themselves. Sure, the time when you are going through the bankruptcy is not an ideal situation to be in, but, keep in mind, the bankruptcy process in the court systems where we operate are only about 3 month processes to complete. Most people will discharge debt that would have taken 5 to 10 years to eliminate with no savings left over. In this case, you get to start saving money immediately after the bankruptcy is over because none of your money will get wasted on paying your creditors in your time of financial hardship.

If you are interested in learning more about the bankruptcy process or how it affects your credit profile, please feel free to contact our Riverside bankruptcy attorneys or our Orange County bankruptcy attorneys for their insights. You can reach us to set an appointment either in-person or by phone for an attorney driven consultation. We are available anytime at (855) 257-7671. We look forward to hearing from you.

A creditor can pursue a wage garnishment after they obtain a judgement against you in court. So, if you have seen and ignored any court summons’ in the past, you may already have a judgement against you. A judgement can be obtained in a lawsuit when you are 90 days behind on a debt. After 90 days of late status, the creditor can sue you in court to get a judgement against you. After the judgement is granted, the creditor can initiate a wage garnishment. The wage garnishment will require the cooperation of your employer and the sheriff’s department in your area. Once they have initiated the wage garnishment, you will see deductions come straight out of your paycheck.

To avoid a wage garnishment, you can eliminate your debts through bankruptcy. Even though you are currently employed, you may still qualify for bankruptcy depending on the number of people in your household, your income level, and the length of time you have been employed. As soon as a bankruptcy is filed in court, the bankruptcy protection provided by the automatic stay in the bankruptcy will cease any progress in a wage garnishment or any other collection activity. The bankruptcy petition needs to be filed in court and notices need to be issued to all parties involved to stop a wage garnishment. A wage garnishment is not the only way a creditor can pursue a debt. You may also be subject to a lien on your property or a bank account levy where they draw money directly from your bank account.

Bankruptcy Law Professionals does not charge any extra fees to stop a wage garnishment. We can also provide you with a free consultation to make sure we can take care of your situation before you pay any money to anyone. You pay our standard price for bankruptcy and we stop your wage garnishment along with filing your bankruptcy petition. Our Riverside bankruptcy attorneys and Orange County bankruptcy attorneys can help you keep your hard earned money for you and your family.

Let Bankruptcy Law Professionals educate you on how Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy may help you stop collections activities as you continue to recover from the recession with a free consultation. You can schedule a free consultation with our attorneys at (855) 257-7671. We look forward to hearing from you.

Let’s say our client John owned a home in Riverside, CA which was purchased in 2005 for $200,000. John took out a 2nd loan on the house for $50,000 as a Home Equity Line of Credit. In 2009, John could not keep up with the house payments and it was foreclosed upon. John is now renting a new home until he saves up enough money for another home. After his foreclosure, he noticed that the 2nd mortgage had been charged-off on his credit report. The first mortgage was satisfied by the proceeds after the property was sold at auction. John did not immediately receive any notice of collections activities for the 2nd mortgage, but the 2nd mortgage is a time bomb waiting for activity.

If the 2nd mortgage was not satisfied by proceeds from the foreclosure sale or trustee sale of the foreclosed home, the 2nd loan or HELOC becomes unsecured debt because John no longer owns the property. The bank which manages the 2nd loan can sell the debt or collect on the debt on their own. Eventually, the bank will sue John in court for the outstanding debt because he is still responsible for the debt that was not satisfied in the foreclosure.

A chapter 7 bankruptcy can eliminate the 2nd loan debt left over from the foreclosure. Since it is unsecured debt, a chapter 7 has the tools necessary to discharge the debt completely. Even though it was designated as charged-off, this designation does not mean that the bank or loan servicing company cannot collect on it. They still have the right to collect on the debt. There is no limit to the amount of debt that can be discharged in a chapter 7 which will allow the full amount of the loan to be eliminated.

Past due HOA debt can also be discharged in a bankruptcy. If a home was foreclosed and the HOA had debt which was not satisfied in the foreclosure, the HOA can pursue the outstanding debt left over previous to the foreclosure. HOA debt is normally secured by the property in the community, but if the property is foreclosed or sold at auction, there is no longer any asset to secure the debt. The past due debt becomes unsecured. In this situation, HOA debt can be discharged in a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Law Professionals has attorneys available for Riverside and Orange County. Our Riverside bankruptcy attorneys and Orange County bankruptcy attorneys are ready to talk to you about your situation. We offer FREE consultations with our attorneys. To schedule a consultation, contact us at (855) 257-7671.

Bankruptcy does not always force you to file your income taxes in order to complete a bankruptcy filing through to discharge. In our experience, it is fairly rare to see a bankruptcy trustee require a bankruptcy client of ours to file your tax return. It is only in very specific conditions which we can review for you during a consult with our attorneys in Riverside or Orange County. If you have the proper law firm to work with which has a wealth of experience in your local court system, you should know if there are any risks to your tax return before you file for bankruptcy. We like to utilize our free consultation as a good way to determine whether bankruptcy would be a good fit for you or not.

Many clients would like to know if tax debt can be discharged in bankruptcy and many of our clients have told us that other law firms had informed them that bankruptcy cannot discharge income tax debt. Bankruptcy Law Professionals has successfully discharged income tax debt for several of our clients and we can do so for you also. Do not let any law firm tell you that all income tax debt or all government debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. If a law firm assumes that all government debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy without spending some time to look at your situation, it would be safe to say that the law firm that tells you this may not be the best one to work with for your situation. Bankruptcy Law Professionals will take the time to look through your situation and tell you the debts that you will be able to eliminate in bankruptcy before you spend a penny on our services.

So, is bankruptcy a good solution for income tax debt? At Bankruptcy Law Professionals, we CAN help you discharge income tax debt if your meet the proper criteria.

Bankruptcy Law Professionals continues to provide high quality bankruptcy services in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcies with our Riverside bankruptcy attorneys and Orange County bankruptcy attorneys. If you are interested in an in-person or phone consultation, please contact us at (855) 257-7671 to schedule an appointment. All of our initial consultations are conducted with an attorney and our initial consults are also FREE!

What is the best way to find out if your employment will be impacted by a bankruptcy? The only people that can answer that question for you is your employer themselves. You can address the issue with your Human Resources Manager at your employer. Before you file for bankruptcy, ask your Human Resources Manager directly if a bankruptcy filing will affect your employment or not. There are no rules by state or federal law that say you have to disclose a bankruptcy, but, if you are concerned about the impact, you should ask your Human Resources Manager how this can affect your current opportunity in case your employer finds out about your bankruptcy for one reason or another. If you ask them about the impact of bankruptcy before your petition is filed, then you will be bringing a hypothetical situation to your employer without yet taking the action. If you find that the impact on your employment is more severe than you can handle, you may want to consider other options outside of bankruptcy such as debt settlement.

If your employer is not on your bankruptcy petition, they will not receive a notice of filing, but that does not mean that there is no way for them to find out about your bankruptcy filing. If the employer consistently monitors employee credit records, they may see the bankruptcy on your credit report after it has been filed. We have found that some companies which are focused in the financial industry where employees handle sensitive financial information, may want to keep an updated file of their employee credit records, but most employers won’t run your credit consistently after you have been hired. Once again, we find it very rare that a bankruptcy will impact an employment opportunity when you are already employed. It is up to you to take the precaution. No law office can keep track of all employees and how they treat bankruptcy situations across the board because companies have various policies and those policies are always changing.

Many of those who are interested in bankruptcy want to know how the income affects a bankruptcy. Can you still file for bankruptcy even though your income is back to normal? Yes, it is still possible to qualify for bankruptcy even though your income is back to normal because there are multiple ways to qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The most common way to qualify is by median income level. You can qualify for bankruptcy by an average income number over the last 6 months. So, if you have only been working one month and you were unemployed for 5 months before that, you would average your income over the last 6 months which should still be low and able to qualify for bankruptcy. The next most common way to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is by proving that your expenses are above your income which is also referred to as a “means test”. If you do not have the means to cover your expenses, no matter what your income is, you may still be able to qualify for bankruptcy.

There is one additional way to qualify for bankruptcy in Chapter 7 even though your income is high. If your debt consists of mostly business debt, you may qualify for a “Non-Consumer Debt Chapter 7″ meaning that the majority of your debt is business related. In this situation, you can qualify for bankruptcy regardless of employment or income numbers.

If you are interested in finding out more information on any of the items discussed above, please feel free to contact us at (855) 257-7671 to ask questions or set up a consultation. Bankruptcy Law Professionals has bankruptcy attorneys available in the Riverside (Inland Empire) region or in Orange County. We look forward to hearing from you.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties were the hardest hit by the real estate crisis of 2008. We are proud to have helped many people stop foreclosure sales with Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 services, but there were many different strategies that homeowners needed to resolve their issues. Many clients who qualified for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 were able to save their home for the long term. Others used bankruptcy to help manage the sale of their home and the foreclosure process. Bankruptcy stops evictions which allowed much more time for families to prepare for their move and save for their next place of residence. In many cases, a bankruptcy was able to stop a foreclosure sale from going through to give people time to apply for a short sale or loan modification. This past year, many banks changed strategies and allow much more flexibility around short selling a home. In some cases, people are receiving relocation funds to help families in the short sale process. In 2013, Bankruptcy Law Professionals will be utilizing all of the experience we have gained in real estate matters to help our clients in the Riverside and San Bernardino areas. We will also be keeping up to date with real estate companies and mortgage companies on the latest changes in any mortgage or real estate related debt relief programs and processes.

The impact of recession in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties spurred a high volume of bankruptcy activity due to high unemployment rates. When unemployed, cash reservation becomes the number one priority. In 2012, bankruptcy protection proved to be the best way to protect your assets such as cash reserves and retirement funds. For many people who had lost jobs in the heaviest hit industries like mortgage and construction, people were looking for a way to stop losing their money to their creditors while they were having a difficult time keeping the lights on in their homes due to a lack of income. Bankruptcy protection does come at a small fee, but it may cost you much less money to pay for a bankruptcy rather than dealing with wage garnishments or bank account levies as a result of judgments from your creditors. We were able to help many people protect their assets as they went through the process of securing new employment and creating new income. Todays economic environment in Riverside and San Bernardino counties is in a recovery phase, but many people are still struggling to catch up to their bills. Bankruptcy Law Professionals is dedicated to helping those who need assistance in getting back to a normal lifestyle after the harrowing affects of this recession.

Over the last year, Bankruptcy Law Professionals has gained valuable experience and recognition with the court systems in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. We are now one of the most recognized bankruptcy law firms in the court system and we can put that advantage to work for you.

If you would like to schedule an appointment for a consultation in-person or by phone, please contact Bankruptcy Law Professionals at (855) 257 – 7671. We look forward to hearing from you.

2012 allowed us to learn much more about the needs of the people in Orange County, California. Real estate issues were extremely important for Bankruptcy Law Professionals to help Orange County clients. We are proud to report that our work helped many families stay in their homes and make housing plans for the future. Through Chapter 7 bankruptcies and Chapter 13 bankruptcies, throughout 2012 Bankruptcy Law Pros worked with clients on a daily basis to resolve debt issues into a stable situation where a family can plan a normal life instead of not knowing what is going to happen to their homes or not knowing how their bills will be paid. With each client consultation, especially those with dire real estate issues, Bankruptcy Law Professionals will, not only provide you with an in-depth consultation on how bankruptcy will help you the most, but we will also meet with you to make sure you have a long term plan in mind for a stable and sustainable financial future. Our clients dealing with real estate issues have been confident in working with us due to our extensive knowledge of loan modification, short sales, real estate transactions, foreclosures, evictions, and mortgage banks. If your main debt concern is real estate related, our office has the expertise to help you attain your goal. We believe that real estate matters will continue to be a central and ongoing issue for many years to come in Orange County, Riverside and other areas of Southern California, and we will continue to keep ourselves educated about the current real estate guidelines, negotiations, and problem solving strategies.

Student loans were a hot topic in 2012. Many potential clients called in to our offices to see if we can help them to discharge student loans. We maintain the position that student loans are technically dischargeable, but, in a practical sense, it rarely happens. We have researched cases where student loans were discharged in a bankruptcy. Usually, a student loan can be discharged if you prove to the court that you are incapable of working for the rest of your life. Even in this situation, it rarely happens. There are other ways to deal with student loans that we can discuss with you. For example, if we eliminated all of your credit card debt or if we eliminated one of the loans on your home, you can focus more on paying off your student loan debt. Bankruptcy Law Professionals will look at your whole debt situation and create a plan for you to manage your debt whether it is dischargeable in bankruptcy or not. In the future, if there are any changes to student loan management in the context of bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Law Professionals will be keeping updated with the latest policy changes. Contact us to keep updated.

Credit card debt may have been a reservoir of relief for some families during the great recession. As the costs of unemployment set in, many individuals and families used credit cards to keep themselves afloat as long as possible until employment rebounded. In 2012, many of our clients had credit card debt which could no longer be maintained. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can eliminate all unsecured debt including credit card debt. There is no limit to the amount of unsecured debt that can be eliminated in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If your financial situation is recovering along with the rest of the economy, take some time to review your financial picture and make sure you and your family are on a track towards further recovery. If the debt payments are still taking a toll on your life, consider eliminating credit card debt via bankruptcy services and Bankruptcy Law Professionals. Bankruptcy Law Professionals also provides debt settlement services in case you are trying to avoid bankruptcy entirely.

Pay day loans through companies like Cash Call were extremely popular as credit card companies reduced debt limits and banks instated stricter lending guidelines. In some situations, a pay-day loan or check advance loan was the only way to turn for temporary cash relief. Unfortunately, these type of loans may have put a larger stress on your finances down the road due to high interest commitments. A pay-day loan is considered unsecured debt that can be discharged in bankruptcy in the same manner as any other unsecured debt such as credit card debt. If interest and penalties have piled up on your initial loan amount, consider bankruptcy as an option.

2012 has brought us extensive experience in managing specific types of debt and financial situations including real estate matters, student loans, credit card debt, and pay-day loans among many other various debts. Another year in the books, as they say, is another year of experience that can be put to use for you. We would like to thank all of our clients who have supported us over the past few years and we wish you all the best in 2013.

If you would like to contact Bankruptcy Law Professionals for a free consulation, contact us at (855) 257-7671. Happy New Year to all!