Long Beach Office
3780 Kilroy Airport Way, Suite 200
Long Beach, CA 90806
Phone: (800) 958-6760
Available 24/7/365 by phone
Directions
Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 7:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday: Closed
Long Beach Bankruptcy Attorney
About Us
What truly sets our firm apart is our client-oriented approach. We put our clients first, and tailor our services to your needs and specific situation. We have five locations serving Long Beach, Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, Ontario, Lancaster, and the surrounding areas. With 30 years combined experience and over 10,000 bankruptcy cases filed, our legal team is highly trained and effective. However, it is the breadth of their expertise that is truly unique. From bankruptcy, debt consolidation, short sales, and second mortgage settlements, our lawyers have an array of tools to help our clients, no matter their particular needs. While there has been an explosion of bankruptcy firms during the recession, our seasoned lawyers have specialized in debt relief for years. Unlike most firms, we do not use bankruptcy preparers or paralegals to handle your case. When you retain our firm, you can rest assured that you are represented by the best lawyers in the field; ones that you
can count on for personalized service and remarkable results.
Our Experience
When retaining an attorney, the most important thing to look for is one who is extremely experienced in their field. At our firm, we have over 30 years of combined experience in the bankruptcy field, and have filed over 10,000 cases. Our unsurpassed results are due not only to our proficiency as lawyers, but also our intimate knowledge of local practices, rules, laws, and courts. This, combined with our open communication with our clients, allows us to provide the smoothest possible experience when going through bankruptcy. Whether bankruptcy or another legal course is right for you, often it is the stress and confusion of the process that is most harrowing for clients. We have tailored our whole business model to put the client first and explain every step of the process and to help with any questions or concerns they may have. When you hire our firm you receive a combination of skill and service that is industry leading.
Services We Offer
We pride ourselves in offering a wide variety of legal services to our clients so that we can provide the best solution to their problems. While we specialize in bankruptcy, we realize that this is not the solution for everyone, and provide a wide array of other debt relief services.
When it comes to bankruptcy, the attorneys at our firm are leaders in their field. With over 10,000 bankruptcy cases filed, and our founding partner holding the esteemed title of Bankruptcy Specialist, our legal team achieves unsurpassed results for our clients. One debt relief service we offer is Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This is a relatively quick process in which most, if not all, of your debts are wiped out in a matter of months. However, how quickly and smoothly this process goes often depends on how qualified your attorney is. We are known for our well prepared and thorough bankruptcy cases, and thus any issues are minimized.
Another such service we offer is Chapter 13 bankruptcies. If you have a steady income, this allows for a repayment plan that pays off a percentage of your debt, with the rest discharged at completion of the plan. However, this payment plan is often complicated, and must be tailored well to your needs for you to be able to comply with it. It takes experienced attorneys who are in tune with your financial and personal situation, such as those at our firm, to make sure that this process is successful.
If bankruptcy is not right for your needs, we also offer a number of alternatives to deal with your debt. One such service is debt settlement. Given our unique knowledge of the Bankruptcy Code and creditor rights, we are able to successfully negotiate with your creditors to achieve the lowest settlements possible. And as we are paid based on how much money we save you, you can rest assured that our interests are perfectly aligned with yours. Furthermore, we offer a number of solutions to save your home. While bankruptcy can save your home, there are a number of other avenues that can achieve the same result. We offer options to settle your second mortgage on your home, as well as short sales and foreclosure assistance. This comprehensive package of legal solutions not only gives you alternatives to bankruptcy, but can also help save your home. Going forward, we offer estate planning services such as wills and living trusts, to assure that your loved ones have a secure and bright future.
Free Consultation
When your debts begin to mount and you find yourself struggling to make your payments, you need to seek legal advice you can trust. Give the attorneys at our firm a call to discuss your options. They will go over your financial situation in detail, discuss your goals, and answer any questions you may have. Then they can suggest a legal course of action that is best suited to your needs.
The 2005 BAPCPA Amendment: What Has it done?
In 2005, Congress enacted a sweeping amendment to the Bankruptcy Code. Titled ‘Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act’ (BAPCPA), it was the source of much social, economic, and political speculation. As its name suggest, the aim of the amendment was to plug loopholes that allowed unscrupulous debtors to abuse the system, while increasing protections for responsible and well-dissevering debtors. The Consumer Bankruptcy Fee Study conducted by Lois R. Lupica analyzed the increase in fees that the amendment has created, and weighed these cost increases to debtors against any benefits they have received as a result of BAPCPA. The study took a random national sample of 11,221 Chapter 7 and 13 cases, pulled from 90 judicial districts between 2003 and 2009. The study also used interviews and focus groups of trustees, judges, and bankruptcy attorneys. What the study discovered is shocking.
The study found that there was a dramatic increase in attorney fees associated with bankruptcy cases. BAPCPA has caused a 24% increase in attorney fees for Chapter 13 cases that ended up being dismissed. For Chapter 13 cases that were successful, there was a 27% increase in attorney fees. Despite the hefty price tag for an attorney, filing without one appears costly. In fact, 100% of the Chapter 13 cases that the study sampled that were filed pro se with the help of a document preparer did not end successfully. For Chapter 7 cases, attorney fees rose 37% for successful cases with assets. For ‘no-asset’ Chapter 7 cases in which no assets are liquidated, there was a dramatic 51% increase in attorney fees. Drawing upon questioning of judges, trustees, and attorneys, the study concluded that these increases were the result of increased complexity of the law and the resulting experience and resources attorneys needed to represent their clients effectively.
Some of the most notable hurdles that BAPCPA has created for debtors are the Means Test and the increase in the number of documents and records required to file. The Means Test is now required to determine the debtor’s eligibility for a Chapter 7 case, which involves complex calculations, and application of various IRS expense standards which must be adjusted for geographical location and household size. The amount of documentation that the debtor now needs to produce is much greater. A debtor may now need to produce evidence of payment from their employer within 60 days of filing, a statement of monthly net income and any potential future changes, and copy of their tax return for the most recent tax year. There are also a number of other complications that BAPCPA introduced such as mandatory credit counseling for debtors and a number of disclosure requirements for attorneys.
In short, this study confirms what many bankruptcy professionals have thought for years: that the 2005 Amendment to the Bankruptcy Code has increased the complexity and expense of bankruptcy for consumers. This underscores the need to carefully select a bankruptcy attorney when filing your bankruptcy case. Given the increased complexity of the Bankruptcy Code, filing your own case is harder than ever. When selecting an attorney, it is important to know that they are competent enough to navigate these complications, and that your money is well spent.