Burbank Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer
A Burbank resident who files Chapter 7 does not go to the courthouse in Burbank; the case is assigned by the filer’s home zip code, and for most of the San Fernando Valley that means the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which sits in Woodland Hills. Getting the division right is one of dozens of small details that decide whether a filing goes smoothly. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 7 cases for Burbank individuals and families, and for clients throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County.
If you are searching for a Burbank Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer, you are probably dealing with a specific pressure point: a credit card lawsuit with a response deadline, a wage garnishment that has cut into your paycheck, medical bills that have gone to collections, or a repossession notice. Chapter 7 is built for exactly these situations. It wipes out qualifying unsecured debt, most cases wrap up in roughly four months, and the automatic stay halts collection activity the moment the petition is filed.
The question is rarely “can I file?” It is “what do I keep, what goes away, and what is the right timing?” That is where the details of California exemption law and the means test matter far more than the general idea of bankruptcy.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Your Burbank Chapter 7 Filing
The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy, certified through the American Board of Certification, a distinction held by a small fraction of attorneys nationally. Together the firm’s attorneys bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience to cases for clients across Burbank, the San Fernando Valley, and the rest of Southern California. Clients get direct access to an attorney from the very first call, free consultations, 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. That familiarity with the court’s filing systems matters when a petition has to go in fast. 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. The firm files in every division of the Central District, so the division your zip code assigns you to is never an obstacle.
For a Chapter 7 client, the practical value of that credential is in the judgment calls: which of California’s two exemption systems to use, whether the means test result is sound, whether Chapter 13 would serve you better, and how quickly to move when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away. The firm acts fast in those emergencies, and it will tell you plainly if bankruptcy is not the best answer and debt settlement or negotiation makes more sense.
Debt Situations That Lead Burbank Residents to Chapter 7
- Credit Card Balances: Revolving card debt is the classic unsecured debt Chapter 7 discharges. Burbank households often reach this point after a job change, reduced hours, or years of paying minimums while interest compounds.
- Medical Bills: Unpaid hospital and provider bills that have gone to collections are generally dischargeable, and a discharge ends the collection calls and lawsuits tied to them.
- Collection Lawsuits and Judgments: When a creditor sues, the case lands in Los Angeles County Superior Court, which has a courthouse in Burbank. A judgment lets the creditor pursue wage garnishment and bank levies, and a bankruptcy filing stops those enforcement tools through the automatic stay.
- Wage Garnishment: An ordinary judgment garnishment is capped by statute, but even a capped garnishment hurts a tight budget. Filing Chapter 7 halts most garnishments at the moment the case is filed.
- Personal and Payday Loans: Unsecured personal loans and payday loans are typically dischargeable, which helps break the cycle of borrowing to cover earlier borrowing.
- Repossession Deficiencies: If a lender repossessed your vehicle and sold it for less than you owed, the leftover deficiency is unsecured debt that Chapter 7 can eliminate.
- Older Income Tax Debt: Some older income tax debt can be discharged if it meets specific timing rules, which we review case by case before filing.
- Business Debt After a Closure: Small business owners whose ventures failed often carry personal liability on loans and cards, and Chapter 7 can resolve that personal exposure.
What You Keep: California Exemptions and the Chapter 7 Means Test
Chapter 7 is sometimes called liquidation, which scares people unnecessarily. In practice, the vast majority of our clients keep everything they own. California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so filers choose between two state systems. One, found in the main exemption chapter of the Code of Civil Procedure, offers a substantial homestead protection for homeowners; the other offers a smaller residence protection but a flexible wildcard that often works better for renters or people with little home equity. You must pick one system for the entire case, and you generally must have lived in California for at least 730 days to use California’s exemptions.
The homestead amount under the first system is tied to the prior year’s county median single-family home price, bounded by a statutory floor and a ceiling, and the dollar figures adjust annually for inflation. The second system’s dollar amounts for the residence, a vehicle, tools of the trade, and the wildcard are also adjusted on a set schedule. Because these numbers move, we run your actual property values against the current figures before recommending a system. Choosing wrong can expose equity to the trustee, which is why this decision gets careful attention from a board-certified attorney rather than a form-filler.
The other gate is the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for a household of your size and then accounts for your actual expenses. Pass it and Chapter 7 is generally available. If your income is above the line, or you have significant equity to protect or are behind on a mortgage or car loan you want to keep, Chapter 13 may fit better, and we will say so.
Practical Steps for Burbank Residents Considering Chapter 7
Start by gathering what a bankruptcy attorney will need: recent pay stubs, a list of every creditor and what you owe each, any lawsuit papers or collection letters, vehicle and home information, and recent tax returns. If you have been served with a lawsuit, do not let the response deadline pass. For debts on a written contract, the general window to sue is four years, and for oral contracts it is two, but an expired deadline is a defense you must actually raise in a written answer, or a court can still enter judgment. A partial payment will not revive a debt that is already time-barred, though a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock, so be careful about what you sign or say to a collector.
If your paycheck is being garnished, call right away. The garnishment on an ordinary judgment is limited by statute, and an employer cannot fire you because of a garnishment on a single judgment, but the money still leaves your account every pay period. If a bank levy is hitting your account, remember that California automatically shields a set amount in deposit accounts without you filing anything, though that protection does not cover levies for child or spousal support or debts owed to the state.
Foreclosure and repossession run on their own clocks. In a California foreclosure, the sale cannot occur until at least three months and 20 days after the notice of default is recorded, the notice of sale must be mailed and posted at least 20 days before the sale, and a monetary default can be reinstated 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 it (20 days if mailed from or to an address outside California), and you can request a 10-day extension of the redemption period in writing. Chapter 7 can stop a sale or repossession immediately, but the timing of the filing relative to these dates affects your options, so call before the date arrives.
Your case will be assigned to a division based on the street address of your residence, not a P.O. box. Burbank-area filers are typically assigned based on zip code through the court’s locator, and we confirm that at the outset. After filing, you attend a meeting of creditors, usually handled efficiently, and complete required financial education. Do not run up new charges, transfer property, or favor one creditor over another before filing; those moves can create problems that a straightforward case would not have.
Burbank Chapter 7 Bankruptcy FAQs
How fast does a Chapter 7 filing stop collection activity?
The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed. Creditors must stop calls, lawsuits, garnishments, levies, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings. In an emergency we can often prepare and file quickly to stop a sale or levy.
How long does Chapter 7 take?
Most cases are completed in roughly four months from filing to discharge, assuming no complications such as an objection or a problem with the paperwork.
Will I lose my home or car?
Most of our clients keep both. In Chapter 7 the question is whether your equity is protected by the exemption system we choose. If you stay current on the loan and your equity is protected, you keep the property. If you have more equity than the exemption covers or you are behind on payments, Chapter 13 may be a better fit.
What debts can Chapter 7 not eliminate?
Child support, alimony, most student loans, most government fines, and debts for injuries caused by drunk driving generally survive. Some tax debts can be discharged and others cannot, depending on timing rules we review with you.
Do I have to come to the Woodland Hills courthouse?
You will attend a meeting of creditors, and our attorneys prepare you for it. We handle cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, so most of the work happens without you leaving home.
Can I file if I filed bankruptcy before?
Yes, subject to waiting periods. You must wait 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.
Will my employer find out?
Not automatically. They may learn of it if they are a creditor or if a garnishment must stop. California and federal law prohibit an employer from firing you solely because you filed.
What if I was sued on a debt that is more than four years old?
Expiration of the limitations period is a defense, but you have to raise it in a written answer. If you ignore the lawsuit, a court can still enter judgment. Bring the papers to us right away so we can decide whether to answer, negotiate, or file.
A judgment was entered against me years ago. How long can it be enforced?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry and can be renewed. For recent medical-expense and personal-debt judgments below certain principal amounts, renewal is limited to one time for five years. A judgment creditor with an active judgment can garnish wages and levy accounts, and Chapter 7 can often eliminate the underlying debt.
Can a collector be held liable for violating the law while pursuing me?
Possibly. California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors. A consumer can recover actual damages, and a court can add an additional $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, plus attorney fees to a prevailing consumer. The suit must be brought within one year, so tell us about abusive collection conduct early.
Can a petition preparer or notary handle my filing?
A petition preparer can type information into forms but cannot give legal advice, choose exemptions, or represent you if a trustee or creditor raises a problem. Mistakes can cost you property or your discharge, which is why attorney representation matters.
How soon can I start rebuilding credit?
Right away. Many clients see scores begin to recover within the first year by using a secured card responsibly, paying every bill on time, and keeping balances low. A Chapter 7 can remain on a credit report for up to 10 years, but its impact fades well before then.
Chapter 7 Representation for Burbank and Surrounding Communities
Wadhwani & Shanfeld represents Chapter 7 clients in Burbank and throughout Los Angeles County, and our attorneys handle cases for neighbors across the San Fernando Valley, including Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. We also serve clients in Hollywood, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and Santa Clarita, and in the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
Our reach extends across Southern California. In the South Bay and southeast Los Angeles County we serve Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. 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 eastern San Gabriel Valley we represent filers in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley.
Talk With a Burbank Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If collection calls, a lawsuit, or a garnishment are driving your decisions, a conversation with a Burbank Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney can show you where you actually stand. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney. We will review your income, property, and debts, explain whether Chapter 7, Chapter 13, or a solution outside of court fits best, and tell you honestly what to expect. You can meet in person or handle your entire case remotely, whichever is easier for you.
