Los Angeles Bankruptcy Law Monitor : Los Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer & Attorney : Christine Wilton Law Firm : Southern California Chapter 13 & Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Foreclosure

Wow!  I just read Martin Andelman's blog post entitled, Our Future Hinges on Just ONE Thing and I'm blown away by the time, effort, detail and compassion he continually brings to the table when caring about the American Dream of home ownership.  We can no longer stand idly by and place blame on the "irresponsible homeowner" because the evidence is too compelling against the big banks who played the same tricks on us as they did when they caused the Great Depression of the 1930's.

Don't take my word for it, or Martin's, read the article and share it with as many people as your social network contains.  When We The People join to form a more perfect union, our united voices cannot be ignored.  Look at what happened with the recent Bank of America ATM fee.  As soon as we the people got busy telling everyone not to bank there, they changed their position. 

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. 

We really can.

I'm happy to report that my engineer boyfriend has changed his position from blaming the irresponsible homeowner to supporting me in the fight against Big Banks!  Join us in the fight to stabilize our economy and keep Americans in their homes.  Illustration as borrowed from Mandelman Matters.

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On September 20, 2011 I was a speaker for Law Review CLE on the topic of Foreclosure Defense in Orange, California and again on November 10, 2011 in Riverside. My perspective is always from the bankruptcy side where we will file under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code to initially stop the foreclosure sale. The benefit to this strategy is, the moment the bankruptcy case is filed, the Debtor's mortgage becomes current and the Debtor will make up the mortgage arrears through trustee payments in their Chapter 13 Plan.

Many practitioners in attendance practice in state court's, and it was depressing to hear their state court hurdles of having to file bonds with the court that are prohibitive to the homeowners and the level of difficulty in moving their cases to the discovery phase. Ironically, our bankruptcy judges continue to tell bankruptcy counsel that the foreclosure defense issues like, "who owns the note" argument needs to be addressed in state court.  It's as if the two benches are pointing fingers and neither wants to take the time to learn about the mortgage securitization issues because their calendars are packed.

Never fear that I shared my Max Gardner Bootcamp wisdom, some of my most recent moving papers, and cutting edge legal arguments we are making that we hope will persuade the bench that mortgage creditors are committing fraud upon our courts, every time. There is hope through the bankruptcy process and it's important to hire competent counsel to assist you when facing these complex issues.

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Last Holiday Season, I wrote about ways to keep your spending down if you're planning a New Year bankruptcy, Article. This year I turn your focus on the best gifts to give YOU and your family this year. When you take care of yourself, everyone around you benefits. Every positive step you take is like a ripple in a pond when a pebble is dropped into it.  Allow yourself to be touched, moved and inspired by MY Top 10 Best Holiday Gifts to give YOU this season:

1.  Give yourself the gift of TRANSFORMATION and check out Landmark Education's courses on living your life powerfully and living a life you love.  Take their entree course, The Landmark Forum and give up your past stories about how you don't have "enough ______[fill in the blank]" and get in action in your life NOW;

2. Give yourself the gift of FREEDOM FROM DEBT and file bankruptcy already. I know your savings is gone, you may have already given your finances a heart attack by borrowing from your retirement account with no way to pay it back. CALL YOUR LOCAL BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY today for a FREE consultation and let go of your debts this season;

3.  Still think Bankruptcy is a dirty word? Then get on board with Dave Ramsey's gazelle-like program of creating your own Debt snowball and sign up for his Financial Peace University, or start with his book, "Total Money Makeover;"

4.  AUDIT YOUR LIFE: Take the role of "observer" and look at your life currently. Take stock of your successes and failures and set a 5-year course for where you want to be. Do one thing today, like the previous ideas to propel you in this new direction.  Never give up. If you choose only one aspect of your life, like MONEY, then just know that how you are with your finances, so you are in every other aspect of your life.  Sorry about the bad news.

5.  BE GRATEFUL: Gratitude for all that you have now will open the door for more gratitude to follow. Start with, "The Best that Life Has to Give is Mine Now" and live into this statement; begin your gratitude journal today;

6.  GET REAL: Being inauthentic about who you are, where your life is headed and especially your finances will only create more drag on your joy. Get Real about every aspect of your life and begin the work to clean your "house" from the inside out. If you're debts will take more than 5 years to payoff, consider a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to restructure them.  Chapter 13 Plans last no more than 5 years and whatever unsecured debts remain at the end are permanently discharged. It's better than debt settlement because

(a) You don't have to pay them in full; and

(b) any debts discharged in bankruptcy have NO INCOME TAX liability;

7.  SEEK ADVICE: Your emotional health depends upon your seeking advice from those you trust. I have created my own "board of advisers" who are made up of very close friends and some family members. When you allow others to come along side you, they can show you your blind spots. Give them permission to be authentic with you and you will begin to see what's missing in your life. Your biggest fans and greatest supporters will also cheer you on to success.

8.  EXERCISE: Remember I mentioned "bad news" earlier in that your life is where it is today because YOU created it?  Now, for the good news; since you are the creator of your life, the architect of your destiny, then you can alter and transform your very nature. This includes your physical body. Start by ignoring what ever voice stops you and get your walking shoes on and go for a walk. Baby steps in all things will carry you to your goals.

9. BE GUIDED BY SPIRIT: Everyone has Spirit; a wise Self. You have probably heard this voice of wisdom when you give someone advice. It's time to turn your wise Self onto YOU. Close your eyes and turn within and quiet your mind long enough and you'll hear this voice. Listen to this guide.

10.  TAKE ACTION: Take the first step into the rest of your life and consult with Your Local Bankruptcy Lawyers to transform your personal financial crisis into FREEDOM FROM DEBTS. Every client that my office has worked with has been transformed financially and are on track with their financial goals. Every other aspect of their lives are altered by their new found FREEDOM and everyone around them benefits.  Get yours this Holiday Season.

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As we welcome in the Holiday Season, our Bankruptcy Courts would like to add a little woe to your cheer.  Effective November 1, 2011 there have been some changes to the Means Test, which determines whether you qualify to file bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, and your filing fees have increased.

Cathy Moran previously notified us that the Median Income for California Families has fallen.  A  drop in the median household income means that you must now make less than before to qualify to file bankruptcy under Chapter 7.  It also means we're making less money these days.  These numbers are taken from the Census Bureau that reports household income.  The new numbers for the Means Test are effective November 1, 2011.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1930,  the Judicial Conference approved an increase in filing fees, also effective November 1st.  The increased filing fee for Chapter 7 is now $306.00, an increase of $7.00. Debtors will also have to pay $30 to amend Schedule D, E, F, G or H, up from $26. Creditors will have to pay $176 to file a motion to lift the automatic stay, up from $150.

Jay Fleischman from New York suggests that, "If you have paid your bankruptcy lawyer for your filing fee and your case has not yet been filed, contact your lawyer about the $7 increase in filing fee." I agree. 

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