Reseda Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer
The goal of a Chapter 7 case is simple to state: the qualifying debts are gone, your paycheck and bank account are no longer under attack, and you keep the property you need to live and work. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings for individuals and families across Reseda, the San Fernando Valley, and the rest of Los Angeles County, along with Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.
If you are searching for a Reseda Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer, the details that decide your case are mostly local and specific: which California exemption system fits your property, whether your income clears the means test, and which court your petition will be assigned to. Reseda filers are assigned to the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, based on the zip code of their street address. Getting those decisions right before filing matters far more than the filing itself.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Chapter 7 Filings in Reseda
Wadhwani & Shanfeld is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy, certified through the American Board of Certification. Raj Wadhwani, a founding shareholder and partner, graduated from Southwestern Law School, helped pilot the Best Case Bankruptcy software in 1998, and was the first attorney to file a bankruptcy case electronically in the Central District of California. Greg Shanfeld, also a founding shareholder and partner, earned his law degree at the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. Together with the firm’s attorneys and staff, they have helped more than 30,000 individuals and families, with more than 90 years of combined legal experience.
For a Chapter 7 client in Reseda, that experience shows up in practical ways. Exemption planning is where most Chapter 7 cases are won or lost, and a board-certified attorney has seen how trustees in this district treat equity, vehicles, and bank balances. You speak with an attorney directly from your first call, the consultation is free, and the firm can act fast when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is only days away. You can also handle your entire case by phone, email, video, or online chat, and virtual consultations are available if you would rather not travel.
Debt Situations That Lead Reseda Residents to File Chapter 7
- Credit Card Balances: Revolving card debt is unsecured and generally dischargeable. Many Valley households reach Chapter 7 after minimum payments stop covering interest.
- Medical Bills: Hospital and provider balances, including those already sent to collections, are treated like other unsecured debt and can be discharged.
- Personal and Payday Loans: Installment and short-term loans are typically wiped out, which also ends the cycle of refinancing one loan to pay another.
- Collection Lawsuits and Judgments: A creditor suit filed in the Superior Court can be stopped by the automatic stay when your petition is filed, and a judgment on a dischargeable debt can be eliminated rather than enforced against you for years.
- Wage Garnishment: Once a creditor has a judgment, it can take a portion of your paycheck. Filing Chapter 7 stops most garnishments as soon as the case is filed.
- Repossession Deficiencies: If a vehicle was repossessed and sold for less than the loan balance, the leftover deficiency is unsecured debt that Chapter 7 can discharge.
- Older Income Tax Debt: Some older income taxes can be discharged if they satisfy the timing rules. IRS debt needs an individual review before anyone promises a result.
- Small Business Debt: Owners whose businesses did not work out often carry personal liability for business loans and cards, which Chapter 7 can address along with personal debt.
Qualifying for Chapter 7: The Means Test and California Exemptions
Chapter 7 eligibility starts with the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for a household of your size. If you are below it, you generally qualify. If you are above it, your actual expenses are taken into account, and some filers who look over the line on paper still qualify. If you do not, Chapter 13 is usually the alternative. The median figures are adjusted periodically, so they should be checked at the time you file rather than assumed.
The second question is what you keep. Chapter 7 is sometimes called liquidation, but the great majority of our clients keep everything they own, because California protects most ordinary property through exemptions. California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so you choose between two state systems, and you must pick one for the entire case. One system, built on the homestead provisions, protects far more home equity, and its homestead amount is tied to local median home prices with a statutory floor and ceiling that adjust with inflation. The other, found in the 703.140(b) system, has a smaller residence exemption but includes a wildcard that can be applied to any property, which often suits renters or people with bank savings and little real estate.
Choosing between them is a calculation, not a preference. A homeowner with real equity usually wants the homestead system. A renter with a modest car, some savings, and a tax refund may do better under the wildcard system. You also must have lived in California for at least 730 days to use California’s exemptions at all; otherwise, a different state’s rules may apply. A Reseda bankruptcy attorney who works through these numbers before you file prevents the one outcome that matters in Chapter 7: losing property that could have been protected.
What to Do Now If Creditors Are Closing In
Start by gathering your last two years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, bank statements, a list of every creditor, and any papers you have been served with. If you have been sued, note the date you were served, because a response to a civil complaint has a short deadline, and a default judgment can lead to a wage garnishment or bank levy. Do not ignore the papers on the theory that bankruptcy will fix everything later; we can often file before the deadline and invoke the automatic stay, but only if we know about it in time.
Be careful about what you pay and who you pay. Large payments to one creditor or relative shortly before filing can be reversed by the trustee, and moving or retitling property can look like concealment. Do not run up new charges on cards you plan to discharge. Do not drain retirement accounts to pay unsecured debts, since those accounts are generally protected in bankruptcy and the money is hard to replace. And do not hire a document preparer to fill in forms. A petition preparer cannot give legal advice, pick your exemptions, or appear for you if a trustee or creditor challenges something, and errors can cost you property or your discharge.
For a Reseda resident, the petition is filed with the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which serves Reseda along with neighboring Valley communities. Shortly after filing you attend a meeting of creditors, usually brief, where the trustee asks about your paperwork. Most cases are completed in roughly four months. If a foreclosure sale, levy, or repossession is imminent, tell us first, because an emergency filing can be prepared quickly.
Protecting Your Paycheck, Bank Account, Car, and Home
The automatic stay takes effect the moment your petition is filed and halts lawsuits, garnishments, levies, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings. Outside bankruptcy, a garnishment on an ordinary judgment is capped at the lesser of 20 percent of weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 48 times the applicable minimum wage, with larger multiples for biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay. A debtor can also ask the court to exempt wages shown to be necessary to support the family, and an employer cannot fire you because of a garnishment on a single judgment. Those protections help, but they only reduce the damage, while Chapter 7 can end it.
Bank levies work differently. California automatically shields a set amount in a deposit account from a judgment levy without any claim of exemption, but that shield does not apply to levies for support or debts owed to the state. Bankruptcy gives you broader relief than any single exemption.
For homeowners, Chapter 7 protects the house only to the extent your equity falls within the homestead exemption, and it does not by itself cure missed mortgage payments. In California, a foreclosure sale cannot be set until at least three months and 20 days after the notice of default is recorded, and a borrower can reinstate a monetary default until five business days before the sale. If you are behind and want to keep the home, Chapter 13 may be the better tool. For vehicles, a lender must give at least 15 days’ written notice before disposing of a repossessed car, and you may be liable for a deficiency only if that notice is timely and complete.
Chapter 7 Questions From Reseda Filers
How much does a Chapter 7 case cost in Reseda?
The first consultation is free. After that, fees depend on the complexity of the case, and the attorney explains the cost before you commit. Court filing fees are set by the court and adjusted periodically, so you will be given the current figure when you file.
Will I lose my house or car in Chapter 7?
Most clients keep both. Your home is protected up to the homestead exemption, and cars are covered by vehicle exemptions, provided you stay current on the loan or reaffirm it. The question is whether any equity exceeds the exemption, and we run that calculation before you file.
How fast does Chapter 7 stop a garnishment?
The automatic stay applies when the petition is filed, so creditors must stop collection at that point. Your employer then has to be notified to stop withholding, and we handle that communication.
Which court will my case be filed in?
The division depends on the zip code of your street address, not a P.O. box. A Reseda address falls within the San Fernando Valley Division of the Central District of California bankruptcy court.
What debts survive Chapter 7?
Child support, alimony, most student loans, most government fines, and debts for injuries caused by drunk driving generally cannot be discharged. Some tax debt is dischargeable only if it meets specific timing rules.
Can I file Chapter 7 if I filed bankruptcy before?
Yes, subject to waiting periods. You must wait 8 years between Chapter 7 filings, and generally 6 years to file Chapter 7 after a Chapter 13, though that period can be shortened if the earlier plan repaid enough to unsecured creditors.
Does my employer find out?
Not automatically. They may learn of it if they are a creditor or if a garnishment has to stop. Employers are prohibited from firing you solely because you filed.
What if a collector sues me over a very old debt?
California generally gives creditors four years to sue on a written contract and two years on an oral one. The expired deadline is a defense you must raise in a written answer, or the court can still enter judgment. A payment on a time-barred debt does not revive it, and only a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock.
Can a collector be held liable for harassment?
Under California’s Rosenthal Act, which covers original creditors as well as collection agencies, a consumer can recover actual damages and an additional $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, plus attorney fees. The suit must be brought within one year. We review collector conduct as part of a bankruptcy evaluation.
What happens to a judgment already entered against me?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed, though recent rules limit renewals to a single five-year extension for certain medical and smaller personal debt judgments. If the underlying debt is dischargeable, Chapter 7 can end the enforcement threat altogether.
Should I do Chapter 7 or try debt settlement first?
It depends on your debt total, income, and assets. Settlement can work for a manageable balance, but for larger unsecured debt Chapter 7 is usually faster and more complete. We also handle settlement, so the recommendation is based on what fits.
Do I have to come into an office to file?
No. We handle cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and virtual consultations are available.
Serving Reseda and Neighboring Valley Clients Across Southern California
We represent Reseda residents and families throughout the San Fernando Valley, including Northridge, Granada Hills, Encino, Woodland Hills, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. We also serve Hollywood, Santa Monica, and the Westside, as well as Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale, Acton, and the Antelope Valley.
Across the rest of Los Angeles County, our Chapter 7 clients live in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, Huntington Park, Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, and West Covina. In Orange County we help clients in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel. In the Inland Empire and beyond, we serve Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley.
Talk With a Reseda Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If you are weighing a Chapter 7 filing, a Reseda Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can review your income, property, and debts and tell you plainly whether Chapter 7, Chapter 13, or a solution outside of court gives you the best result. The consultation is free, and you will speak directly with an attorney.
Call today to schedule a consultation. If a garnishment, lawsuit, foreclosure sale, or repossession is close, say so on the first call so we can move quickly.
