Canoga Park Bankruptcy Lawyer
Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that represents Canoga Park residents who are behind on credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, a mortgage, or taxes and need a way out. The firm handles Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, and IRS tax debt for individuals and families across the West San Fernando Valley and the rest of Los Angeles County.
If you are searching for a Canoga Park bankruptcy lawyer, there is a good chance something specific is pushing you: a summons from a collection firm, a letter from your mortgage servicer, a notice that your paycheck is about to be garnished, or a bank account that was just frozen. Those situations come with different deadlines and different fixes, and the order in which you act on them matters more than most people realize.
Canoga Park cases are filed in the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which sits in nearby Woodland Hills and lists Canoga Park among the communities it serves. That is useful to know, because the court assignment follows the zip code of your street address, not your preference.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Canoga Park Bankruptcy Help
The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification, with more than 90 years of combined legal experience across the team. It serves clients throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, including the San Fernando Valley communities around Canoga Park. Clients get direct access to an attorney from the very first call, a free consultation, and the choice 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 are board certified, which is a distinction held by a small fraction of attorneys nationally.
For a Canoga Park filer, those credentials translate into practical things. The firm files in every division of the Central District, so the San Fernando Valley Division is familiar ground. The attorneys work through every available exemption before you file, and when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away, the firm acts quickly. Just as important, they tell you when bankruptcy is not the right answer. Because the firm also handles debt settlement, loan modification, IRS matters, and second mortgage settlements, the recommendation is based on your numbers, not on the only service a firm happens to sell.
Debt Situations That Bring Canoga Park Residents to a Bankruptcy Attorney
- Credit Card and Medical Debt: Unsecured balances like these are the core of most Chapter 7 cases. If your income passes the means test, which compares your household to the California median for your family size and then looks at actual expenses, these debts can be wiped out, usually in a matter of months.
- Collection Lawsuits: Once a creditor sues and wins a judgment, it can levy bank accounts and garnish wages. Filing bankruptcy triggers the automatic stay, which halts lawsuits, levies, and garnishments, and it can eliminate the underlying debt.
- Wage Garnishment: On an ordinary judgment, the garnishment is capped at the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or a figure tied to 48 times the minimum hourly wage (the multiple is larger for biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay). Even at the cap, it can sink a household budget, and a bankruptcy filing stops most garnishments.
- Mortgage Arrears and Foreclosure: Chapter 13 lets you catch up on missed payments over three to five years while keeping the house, and it can halt a scheduled sale. Some wholly unsecured second mortgages can be stripped off.
- Car Loans and Repossession: Falling behind on an auto loan does not have to mean losing the vehicle. Chapter 13 can bring the loan current, and a Chapter 7 can discharge a deficiency balance left after a repossession.
- IRS and Tax Debt: Some older income tax debt can be discharged if it meets timing rules, while recent or priority tax debt is usually handled through a Chapter 13 plan or through negotiation with the IRS to stop levies and set up payments.
- Personal Loans and Payday Loans: These are generally dischargeable unsecured debts, and they often pile up when someone borrows to cover other bills.
- Small Business Debt: Canoga Park has plenty of owner-operators and contractors whose personal finances are tangled up with their business debts, and the firm handles small business bankruptcy and business debt solutions.
What to Do Right Now If You Are Behind and Under Pressure
Start by sorting your paperwork by what has a clock on it. A court summons is the most urgent item. If a collection firm has sued you, the deadline to file a written response is short, and if you miss it the court can enter a default judgment against you. Many people ignore a summons hoping it will go away, then find their bank account levied a few months later. If you have been served, do not wait to call.
Next, look for anything with a date attached to your home or car. In California foreclosure, 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. You can reinstate a monetary default by paying what is owed until five business days before the sale, so you have more time than a scary letter suggests, but not unlimited time. For a repossessed car, the lender generally has to give at least 15 days’ written notice before selling it, and you can ask in writing for an extension of the redemption period. A lender who misses the notice requirements may lose the right to pursue a deficiency.
Gather your last two years of income documents, recent pay stubs, a list of every creditor and what you owe, your mortgage and car loan statements, and any letters or court papers you have received. Do not move money or transfer property to relatives to get it out of a creditor’s reach. That can look like a fraudulent transfer and cause real trouble in a bankruptcy case. Do not pay one friendly creditor in full right before filing, either, and do not run up new charges thinking they will be erased. Talk to an attorney first.
If a bankruptcy is the right path, your case will be filed with the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which serves Canoga Park. Collection lawsuits against you in state court are typically heard by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which has courthouses in the San Fernando Valley, including Chatsworth and Van Nuys. Your firm handles the filing, the trustee meeting, and any problems that come up, so you are not left sorting out which court does what.
Keeping Your Home, Car, and Savings: California Exemptions in Practice
The word “liquidation” scares people away from Chapter 7, but California’s exemption laws protect most of what ordinary households own, and the vast majority of the firm’s clients keep everything. California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so you choose between two state systems for the whole case: the standard system under Code of Civil Procedure section 704, or the alternative under section 703.140(b). You cannot mix and match.
The section 704 system carries a homestead exemption set by a formula tied to the prior year’s median single-family home price in your county, with a statutory floor and a ceiling, both adjusted annually for inflation. For Los Angeles County homeowners with meaningful equity, that is often the right choice. The section 703.140(b) system has a much smaller residence exemption but a flexible wildcard that can cover cash, a tax refund, or other property, and it often fits renters or people with little home equity better. The dollar amounts are updated on a schedule, so your attorney will check current figures against your actual assets before recommending one.
There is also a residency requirement: to use California’s exemptions you generally must have lived in the state for at least 730 days before filing. If you moved here recently, that affects which exemptions apply to you.
Bank accounts have their own protection. California automatically shields a set amount in a deposit account from a creditor’s levy, and the bank must apply that protection before turning money over, with no claim required on your part. It does not apply to every kind of levy, such as those for child or spousal support or debts owed to the state. If your account has already been frozen, tell your attorney immediately.
Canoga Park Bankruptcy Questions, Answered
How quickly does bankruptcy stop a garnishment or lawsuit?
The automatic stay takes effect the moment your petition is filed. Creditors must stop collection activity, including lawsuits, bank levies, wage garnishments, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings. In an emergency, the firm can often prepare and file quickly to stop a sale or levy.
Will I lose my house if I file?
Most clients keep their homes. In Chapter 7, the question is whether your equity is covered by California’s homestead exemption and whether you are current on the mortgage. If you have more equity than the exemption protects, or you are behind on payments, Chapter 13 lets you keep the property and catch up over time.
What debts can bankruptcy eliminate, and what survives?
Credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, payday loans, and deficiency balances after a repossession or foreclosure are generally dischargeable. Some older income tax debt can qualify too. Child support, alimony, most student loans, most government fines, and debts from injuries caused by drunk driving generally cannot be discharged.
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13: which one fits me?
Chapter 7 is built for people with limited income who want unsecured debt gone in roughly four months. Chapter 13 suits people with steady income who need structure, such as those behind on a mortgage, above the means test limit, or owing priority taxes or support arrears. The attorney reviews your income, expenses, property, and debts to decide, and sometimes the answer is neither.
Will my employer find out?
Not automatically. An employer might learn of it if they are a creditor, if a garnishment has to stop, or if Chapter 13 payments are taken from your paycheck. California and federal law bar an employer from firing you solely for filing bankruptcy, and California law also bars firing an employee over a single wage garnishment.
How long does bankruptcy stay on my credit report?
A Chapter 7 can remain on your report for up to 10 years from the filing date, while the bureaus typically remove a Chapter 13 after 7 years. The effect on your score fades well before then, and many clients begin rebuilding within the first year with a secured card and on-time payments.
Can I file again if I have filed 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.
The debt collector suing me says I owe money from years ago. Is it too old to collect?
Possibly. In California, a creditor generally has 4 years to sue on a written contract and 2 years on an oral one. But 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, though a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock, so be careful what you sign.
A judgment was entered against me years ago. Does it ever expire?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and the creditor can file to renew it. If you have an old judgment, bring the paperwork so an attorney can check where it stands.
A collector is harassing me. 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, and a court may add $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, plus attorney fees if the consumer prevails. The suit must be brought within one year. Keep a log of calls and save every letter and voicemail.
Can a paralegal or document preparer file my case for me?
A petition preparer can type your information into forms but cannot give legal advice, choose your exemptions, or represent you if a trustee or creditor objects. Mistakes can cost you property or your discharge, which is why working with a bankruptcy attorney matters.
Do I have to come into an office?
No. The firm handles cases entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, and offers 100% virtual consultations, so you can get started from home in Canoga Park.
Serving Canoga Park and the Surrounding San Fernando Valley
The firm represents clients in Canoga Park and the surrounding West Valley, including Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, and Encino. Clients also come from Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood, Granada Hills, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar, as well as Hollywood, Santa Monica, and the Westside. Across Los Angeles County, the firm serves Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park, as well as the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
Beyond Los Angeles County, the firm works with clients in the Inland Empire and eastern San Gabriel Valley, including Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley. 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.
Talk With a Canoga Park Bankruptcy Attorney Today
You do not need to spend another week dreading the mail or the phone. A Canoga Park bankruptcy attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can review your debts, income, and property, explain every option inside and outside of bankruptcy, and tell you honestly which path gives you the best fresh start. Call for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney, in person or entirely by phone and video, whichever is easier for you.
