Tarzana Bankruptcy Lawyer
Filing for bankruptcy from Tarzana usually means your case is heard in Woodland Hills, not downtown Los Angeles, and that small detail shapes where your hearing is held, which trustee reviews your paperwork, and how quickly you can get a response when something goes sideways. 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 people in Tarzana, the surrounding San Fernando Valley, and across Southern California.
A Tarzana bankruptcy lawyer is often asked a version of the same question: is bankruptcy the right tool at all, or is something smaller enough to fix the problem? For a Tarzana homeowner with substantial equity, a salaried professional on the wrong side of the means test, or a renter buried in medical bills, the answers differ sharply.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Bankruptcy Help in Tarzana
Wadhwani & Shanfeld is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification, a credential held by a small fraction of attorneys nationally. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Clients get direct access to an attorney from the first call, a free consultation, and the option to handle everything by phone, email, video, or online chat, including 100% virtual consultations.
Raj Wadhwani, a founding shareholder and partner, is a Southwestern Law School graduate who 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 from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. Both hold board certification in consumer bankruptcy.
Why does that matter in Tarzana? Many filers here own property with real equity, carry professional or small-business debt, or have income that sits close to the Chapter 7 line. Those cases turn on exemption choices and timing, where a petition preparer or a one-size-fits-all filing can cost a client property or a discharge. The firm also handles alternatives, including debt settlement, loan modification, and IRS representation, so the recommendation comes from what fits your finances rather than from the only service on offer. When a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away, the firm acts fast.
Debt Situations That Bring Tarzana Residents to a Bankruptcy Attorney
- Credit Card and Personal Loan Balances: Unsecured debt like this is the core of most Chapter 7 cases. If your income passes the means test, these balances can be discharged, usually in a few months.
- Medical Bills: An illness or injury can generate bills that outrun any budget. Medical debt is unsecured and generally dischargeable in Chapter 7 or payable at a reduced rate through a Chapter 13 plan.
- Mortgage Arrears and Foreclosure Notices: A Notice of Default starts a clock, and Chapter 13 lets homeowners catch up missed payments over three to five years while keeping the property.
- Second Mortgages and HELOCs: A wholly unsecured second mortgage can sometimes be stripped off in Chapter 13, and settlement or loan modification may be an option outside court.
- Creditor Lawsuits and Judgments: Collection firms sue in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and a judgment can lead to wage garnishment or a bank levy. Bankruptcy halts those actions upon filing.
- IRS Tax Debt: Some older income tax debt can be discharged if it meets timing rules, and the firm also represents clients with the IRS to stop levies and set up payment arrangements.
- Auto Loans and Repossession: Chapter 13 can let you keep a financed vehicle while you catch up, and deficiency balances left after a repossession can be discharged.
- Small Business and Student Loan Debt: Self-employed Tarzana residents often carry business debt personally, and student loan strategies are evaluated case by case since most student loans are not dischargeable.
What to Do Right Now If You Are Behind and Collections Are Escalating
Start by sorting your paperwork by urgency rather than by amount. A summons and complaint, a Notice of Default, a notice of sale, a garnishment order, or a repossession notice each carries a deadline, and those come before everything else. On a lawsuit, the response deadline is the one that matters most: if you do not file a written answer, the court can enter judgment against you even when the debt is old or the amount is wrong. Time-barred debt is a good example. Written contract debt generally carries a four-year limit to sue, oral contract debt two years, but that expired deadline is a defense you must raise yourself, and a payment on a time-barred debt cannot revive it.
If a foreclosure is underway, know the sequence. A sale date cannot be set earlier than three months and 20 days after the Notice of Default is recorded. The notice of sale must be mailed and posted on the property at least 20 days before the sale, and a monetary default can be cured by reinstatement up to five business days before the sale. Those windows are where options live, and where a Chapter 13 filing can stop a sale outright.
If your car has been repossessed, the lender must give at least 15 days’ written notice before disposing of it, and you can request a 10-day extension of the redemption period in writing. A deficiency claim depends on the lender giving proper notice within 60 days of the repossession. Mistakes there can matter.
Two protections are worth knowing before you panic. A bank levy automatically leaves a set amount of the money in your deposit account protected without you filing anything, though that does not apply to levies for support or debts owed to the state. And Labor Code section 2929 bars an employer from firing you because your wages are garnished for a single judgment.
For bankruptcy specifically, your street address, not a P.O. box, determines the filing division. Tarzana falls within the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which sits in Woodland Hills. Gather recent pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, a list of every creditor, and documents on your home and vehicles, then call for a consultation before you pay anyone, transfer property, or sign anything a debt settlement company hands you. A filing stops garnishments, lawsuits, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings through the automatic stay the moment the petition is filed.
How California Exemptions Decide What a Tarzana Filer Keeps
California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so filers choose one of two state systems for the entire case: the standard system in Code of Civil Procedure section 704, or the alternative set in section 703.140(b). You cannot mix them, and you generally must have lived in California for at least 730 days to use the state’s exemptions.
The section 704 system carries a homestead exemption that is the greater of a statutory floor or the prior-year countywide median single-family sale price, up to a ceiling, with both figures adjusted for inflation each year. In a high-value market like Los Angeles County, that can protect substantial equity, which is why many Tarzana homeowners use it. The 703.140(b) system offers far smaller residence and vehicle amounts but adds a flexible wildcard that often works better for renters with little property. Its dollar amounts adjust every three years on a schedule tied to the California CPI.
Choosing between them means running your actual numbers: home equity, vehicle value, retirement accounts, tools of the trade, and any unusual assets. The vast majority of the firm’s Chapter 7 clients keep everything they own, but that outcome depends on getting this decision right before filing.
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13: Deciding Based on Income and Property
Chapter 7 wipes out qualifying unsecured debt and typically closes in roughly four months, but you must pass the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for your household size and then accounts for allowed expenses. Chapter 13 suits people with steady income above those limits, people behind on a mortgage or car loan, or people with debts Chapter 7 cannot eliminate, such as priority taxes or support arrears. Payments run over three to five years and bind creditors once the court confirms the plan.
Prior filings change the calendar. You must wait eight years between Chapter 7 filings, four years to file Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7, and two years between Chapter 13 filings. Generally six years must pass before a Chapter 7 after a Chapter 13, though that can be shortened if your plan paid enough to unsecured creditors.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bankruptcy for Tarzana Residents
Which bankruptcy court would my Tarzana case be filed in?
Tarzana is served by the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, located in Woodland Hills. Your street address zip code controls the assignment, and the court’s locator tool confirms it.
Will I lose my house in a Chapter 7 filing?
Most clients keep their homes. 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, Chapter 13 may let you keep the property and catch up over time.
How fast does bankruptcy stop a garnishment or foreclosure sale?
The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed. In an emergency, the firm can often prepare and file quickly to stop a sale, levy, or repossession.
What debts can I not get rid of?
Child support, alimony, most student loans, most government fines, and debts for injuries caused by drunk driving generally cannot be discharged. Some older income taxes can be if they meet timing rules.
How much of my paycheck can a creditor garnish without bankruptcy?
On an ordinary judgment, the cap is the lesser of 20 percent of weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the applicable minimum hourly wage, with higher multiples for biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay. You can also ask the court to exempt more if you prove it is necessary to support your family.
I was sued over a debt that feels very old. Do I still have to respond?
Yes. The statute of limitations is a defense you must raise in a written answer, and if you do not respond, a court can still enter judgment. A payment will not revive a debt that is already time-barred, and only a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock on one that is not.
How long can a creditor enforce a judgment against me?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and it can be renewed. For medical expense judgments and personal debt judgments under certain principal amounts, renewal is limited to one time for five years.
Could a collector have broken the law, and can I do anything about it?
California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors. A consumer can recover actual damages, additional statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, and attorney fees if successful, but suit must be filed within one year. A collector can avoid liability by correcting a curable violation within 15 days.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer instead of using a petition preparer?
A petition preparer can type information into forms but cannot give legal advice, choose your exemptions, or represent you if a trustee or creditor raises a problem. Errors can cost you property or your discharge.
Will my employer find out I filed?
Not automatically. They may learn if they are a creditor, if garnishment must stop, or if Chapter 13 payments come out of your paycheck. Employers cannot fire you solely because you filed.
Do I have to come to an office to get started?
No. The firm handles cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and offers 100% virtual consultations, so you can get answers from home.
Serving Tarzana and the Greater San Fernando Valley
Starting in Tarzana and Los Angeles County, the firm represents clients across the San Fernando Valley, including Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, San Fernando, and Sylmar. On the Westside and nearby, it also serves Hollywood and Santa Monica, and in the north, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale, Acton, and the Antelope Valley.
Beyond Los Angeles County, the firm helps people in Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. In Orange County it serves Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel. Across the Inland Empire and eastern San Gabriel Valley, clients come from Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Riverside, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, and the Coachella Valley.
Talk With a Tarzana Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If calls, letters, or a court date are piling up, speak with a Tarzana bankruptcy attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld before the next deadline passes. Call for a free consultation, talk directly with an attorney, and get an honest read on whether Chapter 7, Chapter 13, a settlement, or another route gives you the best fresh start. You can handle your entire case remotely, so getting started takes one phone call.
