Glendale Bankruptcy Lawyer
Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that helps Glendale individuals, families, and small business owners get out from under credit card balances, medical bills, personal loans, mortgage arrears, tax debt, and creditor lawsuits. The firm handles Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment, and IRS matters for people across Los Angeles County and the rest of Southern California, and a Glendale bankruptcy lawyer from the firm will talk with you directly, without a gatekeeper.
Glendale households tend to come to us when a specific deadline has appeared: a summons from a collection firm, a notice that a paycheck will be garnished, a notice of default on a mortgage, or a letter saying a repossessed car will be sold. Each of those has its own clock under California law, and the right move depends on which clock is running. A lawsuit on an old credit card, for example, may be defeated entirely by the statute of limitations, but only if someone files a written answer. Ignore the summons and the court can enter judgment anyway.
That is the kind of detail that decides whether bankruptcy is the right tool at all. Sometimes it is, and filing stops the problem the moment the petition is submitted. Sometimes the better answer is a defense, a negotiation, or a settlement. Knowing which is which requires looking at your debts, your income, and what you own before any paperwork is signed.
Where Glendale Debt Problems Actually Come From
Debt trouble rarely arrives all at once. It builds through a job loss, a medical event, a divorce, a business that stalled, or living costs that outran a paycheck. The bankruptcy code treats these as ordinary events, and the law exists precisely because they happen to honest people. A Glendale bankruptcy attorney sorts the situation into the pieces that matter: which debts can be wiped out, which can be restructured, which must be paid regardless, and which creditors are bluffing about their leverage.
Most of our clients are dealing with unsecured debt, meaning there is no collateral behind it. That includes credit cards, medical bills, payday and personal loans, and deficiency balances left after a car is repossessed. Others are protecting something specific, usually a home or a vehicle, and for them the choice of chapter is driven by what they are trying to keep.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Your Glendale Bankruptcy Case
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 lawyers bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience to consumer bankruptcy and debt relief.
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, and both lead the firm’s work.
For a Glendale client, those credentials translate into practical advantages. You get direct access to an attorney from the first call, not a sales intake. The firm acts quickly when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away, and it files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, so the court assignment for your address is routine rather than a hurdle. You can handle the entire case by phone, email, video, or online chat, and consultations are free and available fully virtually. The firm builds each plan around your income, your property, and your goals, and it will tell you plainly when bankruptcy is not the best answer.
Debt Situations We Handle for Glendale Filers
- Credit Card and Collection Debt: Unsecured balances are the most common reason people file Chapter 7, and they are usually discharged in full. Written contract and book account claims generally carry a four-year limitations period, and oral contracts two years, which can matter a great deal if the debt has been sold to a collector.
- Creditor Lawsuits and Judgments: A California money judgment is enforceable for ten years and can be renewed. Bankruptcy can eliminate qualifying judgment debt and stops bank levies and liens from being pursued while the case is open.
- Wage Garnishment: On an ordinary judgment, the garnishment is capped by a statutory formula tied to your disposable earnings and the minimum wage. A bankruptcy filing halts most garnishments through the automatic stay.
- Foreclosure and Mortgage Arrears: Chapter 13 lets homeowners catch up on missed payments over three to five years and can stop a scheduled sale. In some cases a wholly unsecured second mortgage can be stripped off.
- Car Repossession and Deficiency Balances: Repossessed vehicles are often sold for less than the loan balance, leaving a deficiency that Chapter 7 can discharge. Chapter 13 can help you keep a car you are behind on.
- IRS and Tax Debt: Some older income tax debt can be discharged if it meets timing rules, and other tax debt is handled through payment plans, either inside Chapter 13 or through representation before the IRS.
- Student Loan and Personal Loan Debt: Most student loans cannot be discharged, but personal and payday loans generally can. We look at strategies for the loans that remain.
- Small Business Debt: Owners who guaranteed business debts personally often need relief both for the business and for themselves, and the firm handles small business bankruptcy and business debt solutions.
What to Do Right Now If Collectors or Creditors Are Closing In
Start by sorting your paper by deadline. A summons from a collection firm has a response deadline measured in days, and missing it invites a default judgment even on a debt that is too old to sue on. If you have been served, bring the summons to a consultation immediately. Whether to answer, negotiate, or file bankruptcy depends on the claim, the amount, and your income, and it is a decision best made before the deadline rather than after it.
If a foreclosure is underway, look at the dates on the notices. In California, a sale cannot be set until about three months and twenty days after the notice of default is recorded, and the notice of sale must be mailed and posted at least twenty days before the sale. A monetary default can be cured by reinstatement until five business days before the sale. Those windows are where a filing does the most good, but they also close quickly, so do not wait for the posting to appear on the door.
For a repossession, the lender must give at least fifteen days’ written notice before disposing of the vehicle, and you can ask in writing for the redemption period to be extended by ten days. A lender that misses the notice rules may lose its right to a deficiency, which is worth knowing before you agree to anything. Keep every letter, and do not make a payment on an old debt before talking with counsel, because a payment cannot revive a time-barred debt but a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock.
Stop sending money to creditors you intend to include in a bankruptcy, and do not move assets or pay back relatives before filing. Gather your last two years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, a list of every creditor, and information on your home, vehicles, and accounts. If you are a Glendale resident, your bankruptcy case is assigned to a division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California based on your street address, and we confirm the right division for you. Collection lawsuits in Glendale are heard in the Glendale courthouse of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Keeping Your Home, Car, and Paycheck Under California Exemptions
The word liquidation scares people, but most of our clients keep everything they own. California has opted out of the federal exemptions, so filers choose between two state systems, and you must use one system for the entire case. One system carries a substantial homestead exemption, tied to the countywide median home price within a statutory floor and ceiling, which benefits people with real equity. The other is a more flexible wildcard system that often suits renters or people with little home equity. Choosing between them is one of the most consequential decisions in your case, and it is made after reviewing every asset. A residency requirement of 730 days also applies before you can use California’s exemptions.
Exemptions also protect cash. A modest amount in a bank account is automatically shielded from levy without filing a claim, though that protection does not apply to certain debts such as support. Wage garnishments on ordinary judgments are limited by formula, and a debtor can ask a court to exempt more of their earnings if they are needed to support the family. An employer may not fire you because your wages are garnished for a single judgment.
Glendale Bankruptcy Questions We Hear Most
How fast does filing stop a garnishment or lawsuit?
The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed. Creditors must stop lawsuits, bank levies, garnishments, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings. In an emergency we can prepare and file very 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 falls within California’s homestead exemption and whether you are current on the mortgage. If you have more equity than the exemption covers or are behind on payments, Chapter 13 lets you keep the home and catch up over time.
What debts can bankruptcy eliminate?
Most unsecured debt can be discharged, including credit cards, medical bills, personal and payday loans, and deficiency balances. Some older income taxes qualify under timing rules. Child support, alimony, most student loans, most government fines, and debts for injuries caused by drunk driving generally cannot be discharged.
Should I file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13?
Chapter 7 is built for people with limited income who want unsecured debt eliminated, usually in about four months, and it requires passing the means test. Chapter 13 reorganizes your debts into one payment over three to five years and suits people with steady income, mortgage or car arrears, priority debts, or assets beyond what exemptions cover.
Can I file again if I filed before?
Yes, with 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 shorten if your plan paid enough to unsecured creditors.
How long will it stay on my credit report?
A Chapter 7 can remain for up to 10 years from filing, and Chapter 13 is typically removed after 7 years. The effect on your score fades well before then, and many clients begin rebuilding within the first year using a secured card and on-time payments.
Will my employer find out?
Not automatically. They may learn if they are a creditor, if a garnishment must stop, or if Chapter 13 payments are deducted from your pay. California and federal law bar an employer from firing you solely because you filed.
A debt collector sued me over something very old. Do I still have to pay?
Not necessarily. Written contract and book account debts generally can be sued on for only four years, oral contracts for two. But the deadline is a defense you must raise in a written answer. If you do not respond, the court can still enter judgment against you.
Can a collector be held liable for harassing me?
California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors. A consumer can recover actual damages, a court can add $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, and a prevailing consumer can recover attorney fees. The suit must be filed within one year, and a collector can avoid liability by correcting a curable violation within fifteen days of learning of it.
What happens to a judgment against me after ten years?
A California money judgment is enforceable for ten years and can generally be renewed. For medical expense judgments with unpaid principal under $200,000 and personal debt judgments under $50,000, renewal is now limited to a single five-year extension. After enforceability ends, collection stops and liens created by enforcement are extinguished.
Can I use a paralegal or notary to file for me?
A bankruptcy petition preparer can type your information but cannot give legal advice, choose exemptions, or represent you if a creditor or trustee objects. Errors can cost you property or your discharge, which is why representation by a bankruptcy attorney matters.
Do I have to come in to meet with a lawyer?
No. We handle cases entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, and consultations can be fully virtual.
Glendale Bankruptcy Representation Across Los Angeles County and Beyond
We represent clients in Glendale and throughout Los Angeles County, including Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Inglewood, Compton, Torrance, Long Beach, Lakewood, Gardena, Cerritos, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. In the San Fernando Valley we serve Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar, along with Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
To the east, we help families in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire, including Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Montclair, Chino, Chino Hills, Ontario, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, San Bernardino, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley. In Orange County we serve Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, and Cypress. Wherever you live, the firm can file your case in the correct division of the Central District of California.
Talk With a Glendale Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If a lawsuit, garnishment, foreclosure notice, or repossession letter is sitting on your table, the sooner you speak with a Glendale bankruptcy attorney, the more options you keep. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation and talk directly with an attorney about whether Chapter 7, Chapter 13, a settlement, or a defense gives you the best path forward. We will review your situation honestly and tell you what we would do.
You can meet with us virtually and handle your whole case from home. Call today and get a clear answer before the next deadline arrives.
