Expert Bankruptcy & Debt Relief Insights

Rebuilding your credit score and financial situation after navigating bankruptcy can seem like an impossible task. It is common to worry that filing for bankruptcy will have a negative impact on your credit score and will prevent you from fulfilling your long term goals. By creating a recovery plan after bankruptcy, however, it is possible…

If you have overwhelming debts and are experiencing constant harassment from bill collectors, it is understandable that you would want to seek relief in filing for bankruptcy. Before entering this process, however, it is critical to ask yourself if you are actually ready to file for bankruptcy or if it might be a better idea…

While many people have heard of the bankruptcy “means test,” they are uncertain about what exactly this test includes. The means test is used to determine if a person’s income is low enough to qualify to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The purpose of this test is to block individuals with higher salaries from filing…

Corporate bankruptcies are somewhat misunderstood. While Chapter 11 bankruptcy is called a reorganization, the idea that a business will emerge from bankruptcy stronger is not as simple as just filing for bankruptcy. Instead, there are other relevant factors required that will allow a bankruptcy to rehabilitate a business. Sears Currently, the once-mighty Sears Holdings is…

  When a business faces bankruptcy, questions arise regarding how to handle wasting assets. In general, a business may operate per its regular course of business while being overseen by a Bankruptcy Court. That is to say, a business generally need not motion the Court to approve an action when that action fits in the…

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a negotiation. As a result, it is imperative to consider strategies that keep your business alive during and after bankruptcy. Languishing in negotiation for a prolonged period of time can result in the liquidation, not reorganization, of a business. Chapter 11 Discharge In general, the goal of a bankruptcy is to…

The United States Bankruptcy Code, or the Code, provides a variety of chapters wherein a distressed debtor can file. Debtors are afforded a filing pursuant to Chapters 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 15 and there is a proposed Chapter 17. There are also differences depending on whether the petition is being filed by an…

A potential client calls a bankruptcy lawyer to set up and initial consultation. The lawyer’s receptionist tells the client the he can meet with the lawyer and provides a date for a meeting. The receptionist tells the client to compile a list of all creditors and amounts owed to those creditors. The receptionist also tells…

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s website emphasizes the point that the bankruptcy process is a way for the “honest” debtor to get out of debt. To that end, the United States Bankruptcy Code, or the Code, establishes parameters for what type of debt is dischargeable in bankruptcy. Section 523(a) of the Code specifically cites certain debts…

When a client walks into the Bay area law offices of Melanie Tavare to discuss debt relief matters, one question that is often at the forefront of the client’s mind is asset protection. The client wants to know whether his or her assets will be protected during a bankruptcy. Often, the client will have worked…