North Hills Bankruptcy Lawyer
Deciding whether to file bankruptcy, settle with a creditor, or keep fighting a lawsuit is a decision with real deadlines attached, and most residents of North Hills make it while a garnishment notice or court date is already on the calendar. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, and IRS tax debt for individuals and families across North Hills, the San Fernando Valley, and the rest of Los Angeles County and Southern California.
If you are looking for a North Hills bankruptcy lawyer, the first question is rarely “should I file?” It is “what is actually threatened, and how soon?” A bank levy, a wage garnishment, a trustee sale, and a lawsuit all run on different clocks and respond to different tools. Bankruptcy is one of those tools, and sometimes it is not the right one. The goal of the first conversation is to match the tool to the problem before a deadline makes the choice for you.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for North Hills Bankruptcy and Debt Relief
Together the firm’s attorneys bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience. The firm represents clients throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, starting with North Hills and the surrounding San Fernando Valley, and it files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
Raj Wadhwani, a Southwestern Law School graduate, 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 earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. For a North Hills client, that depth shows up in practical ways: exemption choices that are made deliberately rather than by default, petitions that are accurate the first time, and the ability to move quickly when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away.
Clients get direct access to an attorney from the very first call, a free consultation, and the option of handling the entire case by phone, email, video, or online chat, including 100% virtual consultations. The firm builds a plan around your income, property, and goals rather than a one-size-fits-all filing, and it handles both bankruptcy and its alternatives, so the recommendation is not driven by the only service a firm happens to sell.
Debt Situations That Bring North Hills Residents to a Bankruptcy Attorney
- Credit Card and Medical Debt: These are unsecured debts that Chapter 7 can eliminate when your income passes the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for your household size and then accounts for actual expenses.
- Creditor Lawsuits and Judgments: Once a collector sues and wins, it can pursue wage garnishment and bank levies. Filing bankruptcy halts the suit or enforcement under the automatic stay, and a judgment on its own can be a reason to file.
- Wage Garnishment: A garnishment on an ordinary judgment is limited by statute, but even the capped amount can break a household budget. Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 stops most garnishments when the case is filed.
- Mortgage Arrears and Foreclosure: Chapter 13 lets you catch up missed payments over three to five years and keep the home, and can sometimes strip off a wholly unsecured second mortgage.
- Car Loans and Repossession: Whether you are behind on payments or facing a deficiency after a repossession, bankruptcy can either let you keep the vehicle through a plan or wipe out the leftover balance.
- IRS Tax Debt: Some older income tax debt can be discharged if it meets specific timing rules, and the firm also represents clients with the IRS to stop levies and set up payment arrangements.
- Personal Loans and Student Loans: Personal and payday loans are generally dischargeable; most student loans are not, so those cases call for separate strategies.
- Small Business Debt: Owners whose personal finances are tied to a struggling business often need a combined look at business debt solutions and personal bankruptcy.
What to Do When a Garnishment, Levy, Lawsuit, or Sale Date Is Coming
Start by identifying exactly which deadline you are facing, because the answer determines the next move. If you have been served with a civil complaint, you generally have a short window to file a written response, and missing it can lead to a default judgment. Bring the summons, the complaint, and every letter from the creditor or its attorneys to the first consultation. If the lawsuit is about an old debt, the statute of limitations may be a complete defense, but it is a defense you must raise in a written answer; a court can still enter judgment if you stay silent. In California, a written contract or book account claim generally must be filed within four years, an oral contract claim within two, and a payment on a time-barred debt does not revive it.
If a judgment has already been entered, collect your pay stubs and bank statements. The most a creditor can take from wages on an ordinary judgment is the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or a figure based on how far those earnings exceed a multiple of the minimum wage, and you can ask the court to exempt more if you prove the money is needed to support your family. A California money judgment stays enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed, though recent law limits renewals on smaller medical and personal debt judgments. Bank accounts have a built-in protection too: the bank must automatically shield a set amount in your deposit account from a levy without any claim from you, though that protection does not cover levies for support or for wages owed to another.
For a foreclosure, the calendar is more forgiving than most people fear but less forgiving than they hope. A sale cannot be set until after the notice of default has been recorded for roughly three months and 20 days, the notice of sale must be mailed and posted at least 20 days before the sale, and you can reinstate by paying the past-due amount up to five business days before the sale date. For a repossessed vehicle, the lender must give at least 15 days’ written notice before disposing of the car, and you can ask in writing for a 10-day extension of the redemption period. Those windows are exactly when a quick filing does the most good.
If you decide to file, the court is determined by your street address, not a P.O. box. North Hills is served by the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which sits in Woodland Hills. Creditor lawsuits against Valley residents are typically heard in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The mistakes we see most often are ignoring a summons, making a payment on an old debt in hopes of ending the calls, paying a bankruptcy petition preparer who cannot advise on exemptions, and waiting until the day before a sale to call.
Keeping Your Home, Car, and Paychecks: How California Exemptions Decide the Case
The most consequential choice in a California filing is which exemption system to use, and you must pick one for the whole case. California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so filers choose between two state systems. The first, the standard system, offers a homestead exemption that is the greater of a floor amount or the prior-year countywide median single-family sale price, up to a ceiling, and both figures are adjusted annually for inflation. That makes it the usual choice for homeowners with real equity. The second, the alternative system, has a small residence exemption but a flexible wildcard that can cover cash, a vehicle, or other property, and it often works better for renters or people with little home equity. Both systems also protect vehicles, tools of the trade, household goods, and retirement accounts to varying degrees, and the dollar amounts are indexed and change periodically, so they are worked out against your actual property at the time you file.
To use California’s exemptions, you generally must have lived in the state for at least 730 days before filing. That is why the vast majority of Chapter 7 clients keep everything they own, and it is why the exemption analysis happens before any petition is signed. If your equity exceeds what the exemptions cover, or you are behind on a mortgage or car loan, Chapter 13 is often the better fit because it lets you keep the property while you pay creditors over time.
Common Questions From North Hills Bankruptcy Clients
How fast does bankruptcy stop a garnishment or lawsuit?
The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed. Creditors must stop collection calls, lawsuits, wage garnishments, bank levies, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings. When a sale or levy is days away, the firm can often prepare and file a case very quickly.
Will I lose my home if I file in North Hills?
Most clients keep their homes. In Chapter 7, the question is whether your equity falls within California’s homestead exemption and whether you are current on the mortgage. If you have more equity than the exemption covers, or you are behind on payments, Chapter 13 lets you keep the home and catch up over time.
What debts can bankruptcy eliminate?
Most unsecured debts can be discharged, including credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, payday loans, and deficiency balances after a repossession or foreclosure. Some older income taxes qualify if they meet timing rules. Child support, alimony, most student loans, most government fines, and debts for injuries caused by drunk driving generally cannot be discharged.
Does Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 make more sense for me?
Chapter 7 fits people with limited income who want unsecured debt gone, usually in about four months. Chapter 13 fits people with steady income who are behind on a mortgage or car loan, have income above the means test limits, owe priority tax or support debt, or have equity beyond what exemptions protect. The attorneys compare both against your numbers.
A collection firm sued me over an old credit card. Can I still be sued?
Possibly. A written contract or book account claim carries a four-year limit, and oral contracts two years, but the expired deadline only helps if you raise it in a written answer. A signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock, while a payment cannot revive a debt that has already expired. Bring the complaint to a consultation before your response deadline passes.
Can my employer fire me for a garnishment or a bankruptcy?
California law bars an employer from firing you because your wages are garnished for a single judgment, and state and federal law prohibit termination solely because you filed bankruptcy. Your employer is not automatically notified of a filing, though they may find out if they are a creditor or if a garnishment must stop.
How long will bankruptcy appear on my credit report?
A Chapter 7 can remain for up to 10 years from filing and a Chapter 13 is typically removed after 7 years, but the effect on your score fades well before then. Many clients begin rebuilding within the first year with a secured card, on-time payments, and low balances.
Can I file again if I filed before?
Yes, subject to waiting periods: 8 years between Chapter 7 filings, 4 years to file Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7, 2 years between Chapter 13 filings, and generally 6 years to file Chapter 7 after a Chapter 13, though that last period can be shortened if your plan paid enough to unsecured creditors.
Can a collector be held accountable for harassment or false statements?
California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors. A consumer can recover actual damages, an additional $100 to $1,000 if the violation was willful and knowing, and attorney fees if successful. The suit must be brought within one year, and a collector can avoid liability by correcting a curable violation within 15 days of learning of it.
Do I need to come in person, or can I handle everything remotely?
Cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, including the initial consultation. If you prefer to meet in person, that option is available too.
Is it worth hiring an attorney instead of a petition preparer?
A petition preparer can type your information into forms but cannot give legal advice, choose exemptions, or represent you if a trustee or creditor raises a problem. Errors can cost you property or your discharge, which is why representation by a bankruptcy attorney matters.
Serving North Hills and Bankruptcy Clients Across Southern California
North Hills sits in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, and the firm’s work starts there and runs outward through neighboring Mission Hills, Granada Hills, Northridge, Panorama City, Van Nuys, and Sylmar. Clients also come from Reseda, Encino, Woodland Hills, North Hollywood, San Fernando, Sherman Oaks, and Hollywood, and from the Westside, including Santa Monica. Across Los Angeles County the firm represents families in Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton in the Antelope Valley.
Beyond Los Angeles County, the firm serves the Inland Empire, including Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, and West Covina, as well as Riverside and the Coachella Valley. In Orange County it works with 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, along with Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Gardena, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park.
Talk to a North Hills Bankruptcy Attorney Before Your Deadline Arrives
You do not need to decide everything today, but you do need to know which deadline is closest. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation with a North Hills bankruptcy attorney who can review your income, property, and debts, explain every option inside and outside of bankruptcy, and tell you honestly which path gives you the best fresh start. You will speak directly with an attorney from the first call, and you can handle your whole case remotely if that is easier.
If a garnishment, levy, lawsuit, or sale date is already on the calendar, say so when you call. The sooner the attorneys see the paperwork, the more options remain open.
