Bankruptcy Attorneys Los Angeles

We saw the change firsthand. Whereas client used to come to our office wearing hats and sunglasses to avoid any chance of being recognized, they are now telling all of their friends about us and referring them to us. What happened was simple: once you go from the pain and stress of financial struggle to the fresh start that occurs at the end of a bankruptcy case, it is a like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. It's therapeutic and wonderful, and you want all those that you care about who are going through similar stresses as you were to know that there is a hope, and it is just a phone call away. In a way, you begin to preach the gospel of bankruptcy.

Whether the cause was a loss of a job, reduction in income, an illness, a lawsuit or the inability to continue to make your very high 1st and 2nd mortgage payment, if you are struggling financially, there is something you can do about it. The bankruptcy lawyers at our office are very experienced, and have seen almost every potential situation - we will know how to help you out of your stressful financial situation. Everyone lawyer here is also just genuinely a good and caring person. That is the culture of our law firm, and it is what has earned us an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Our former clients have written us some of the nicest letters and e-mails. Sometimes it is even surprising to us, who know that bankruptcy is usually a reliable option once it gets to be too much, to hear how hopeless many felt and how many sleepless nights they experienced. If only more of the general population knew the power of bankruptcy to restore order and hope to their lives, people might not suffer so much before calling our office.

To do our part to educate the public, we have created a lot of helpful and easy to understand information within this very website. You can learn about Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Chapter 13 bankruptcy, 2nd mortgage lien strips, the various forms of debt settlement (credit card, tax, 2nd mortgage), foreclosure solutions, and even our non-bankruptcy services like estate planning. Please take some time to learn about some of the tools the law has provided you with to restore order and hope to your life. Or, give us a call for your free consultation to learn more about how bankruptcy can help your specific situation.

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One of our debt settlement clients had a particularly hard time with her and her son's health. Both had become sick from mold contamination, and the illness was one that would become chronic and lifelong. Unfortunately, she did not have the proper insurance on her home to cover such contamination, so the home became a total loss. Imagine that: a defect in your home saddles you and your young son with a lifelong illness. Then to make matter worse, you cannot live there or sell it, so that same house that took your health then takes your money.

Ordinarily, in a situation like this, the best course of action is to declare bankruptcy and focus on getting your life back in order to the best of your ability. However, in this case, our client had filed bankruptcy a few years before, and was not eligible to do so at the time this maelstrom struck. Therefore, her only option was to settle her debt.

She enlisted our help to do so, and we took her case on. Lily began the zealous advocacy that she engages in for each and every one of her clients. After months of negotiations, we finally were able to get her a deeply discounted settlement that allowed her to move on with her life.

There are several different lessons to be learned from this story. First and foremost, no matter what life throws at you, there is always some way to make your situation better if you are able to enlist the help of the right people. Therefore, there is always hope. Second, although bankruptcy can often be the cleanest and quickest solution to financial problems, there are always alternatives like debt settlement that can be very effective, and are sometimes even better suited for your situation than bankruptcy, so keep an open mind to all alternatives. Finally, if you are struggling financially, contacting a bankruptcy attorney can be the best way to begin learning about your options. The earlier you reach out, the more room there is for planning and strategy. On the contrary, the longer you wait, the less flexibility you will have because of the presence of impending legal actions. Even if you have your mind set on either bankruptcy or debt settlement or even nothing at all, we recommend you take advantage of the free consultation that we offer just to make sure that you are making the best and most informed decision for yourself and your family.

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Four months later they received a letter demanding $11,000 for cleaning expenses. They were shocked by this and told the landlord that they had fully cleaned the place when they left. The landlord continued with his demand, so the couple asked to inspect the premises. When they did so, they found that the place was, in fact, filthy. However, it was also clear that another tenant had come in after them and used the place and then left, leaving it in its current state. Instead of arguing further, they just decided to clean the place and end the matter, even though they had not made the mess. So the elderly couple spent 5 whole days with the help of a professional cleaning crew going over the whole property.

Thereafter, they received a lawsuit for the $11,000 with photos showing the place as it had been before the second cleaning, but the photos had been doctored to show a date after the cleaning. At this point, the couple retained an attorney to fight the matter.

Fast forward 6 months and the creditor has continued to up the ante, is now demanding over $100,000 for expenses and lost rent. He is seeking to obtain a judgment lien on their home. However, since the couple had $75,000 in a stock portfolio, bankruptcy was not really an option or they would have lost that money (we can only protect up to $26,000 of this type of asset).

There are several lessons to be learned from this unfortunate couple's experience. First, creditors can be jerks, especially when they are bigger fish than you and use bullying as a tactic. Second, backing up facts with evidence is crucial in any legal dispute, so if you feel one is brewing, you should really begin to think about how you can document and evidence your actions. In this couple's case, they could have taken pictures of themselves after they cleaned the building the first time, and especially of them cleaning the building the second time as proof that they did so. In your case, one strategy is when dealing with your creditors over the phone, inform them that you are recording the conversation and either record it or take copious notes. Finally, this case also speaks to the importance of pre-bankruptcy planning. This couple was not able to file bankruptcy to get rid of this creditor because they would have had turn over their stock portfolio. However, with proper bankruptcy planning and enough time, this could have been avoided, and this creditor could be in their rear-view mirror.

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