Sherman Oaks Credit Card Debt Lawyer
If you live in Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, or anywhere else in the San Fernando Valley and a credit card balance has outrun your paycheck, you are probably weighing a handful of choices at once: keep paying minimums, settle, ignore the letters, or file for bankruptcy. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm serving Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County, and a Sherman Oaks credit card debt lawyer from our firm can walk you through each of those paths before you commit to one.
Credit card debt behaves differently from a mortgage or a car loan because nothing is pledged as collateral. That means creditors cannot simply take something back; they have to sue, win a judgment, and then use collection tools like wage garnishment and bank levies. Where you are in that sequence, whether you are getting calls, have been served with a complaint, or already have a judgment against you, changes what the best move is. Knowing the clock that applies to your account is the first thing worth sorting out.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Credit Card Debt Relief
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families get out from under debt, and the firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification: founding shareholders Raj Wadhwani and Greg Shanfeld. Together the firm’s lawyers bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience to credit card, medical bill, personal loan, and tax debt problems for clients throughout Los Angeles County and across Southern California, including the San Fernando Valley and Westside communities.
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 credit card client, that depth matters in practical ways: someone who has seen thousands of filings knows how trustees read a means test, how exemptions are chosen, and when a creditor’s lawsuit is better answered than ignored.
You get direct access to an attorney from your first call, a free consultation, and the option to handle everything by phone, email, video, or online chat, including 100% virtual consultations. When a garnishment, levy, or sale is days away, the firm acts fast. The firm also handles debt settlement and negotiation, so the recommendation you get is based on what fits your income and property, not on the only service a firm happens to sell.
Credit Card Debt Situations We See Most Often
- Minimum payments that no longer cover interest: When the balance barely moves year after year, Chapter 7 may erase the debt outright if you pass the means test, which compares your income to the California median for your household size.
- Collection calls and demand letters: Debt buyers and collection agencies often take over old accounts. Once you are represented, we can deal with the collector, and a bankruptcy filing ends the calls entirely through the automatic stay.
- A lawsuit from a collection firm: Firms such as Hunt & Henriques, Reese Law Group, and Patenaude & Felix file suits on behalf of creditors in Southern California. A summons carries a response deadline, and missing it can lead to a default judgment.
- Wage garnishment after a judgment: Once a creditor wins, it can direct your employer to withhold part of each paycheck. Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 stops most garnishments when the case is filed.
- Frozen or levied bank accounts: A judgment creditor can levy a bank account. California automatically protects a set amount in a deposit account without you filing a claim, though that protection does not extend to every kind of debt, such as support or debts owed to the state.
- Cards run up during a job loss, illness, or divorce: Using credit to cover rent and groceries is common. These balances are typically unsecured and dischargeable in Chapter 7.
- Income too high for Chapter 7: If you earn above the means test limit, Chapter 13 folds your card debt into a three-to-five-year payment plan based on what you can afford.
- Settlement as an alternative: When you have a lump sum or a manageable budget, direct negotiation can resolve a balance for less than owed without a bankruptcy on your record.
What to Do When Card Balances Turn Into Collection Trouble
Start by gathering paper. Pull together recent statements, every collection letter, and especially any court papers. If you have been served with a summons and complaint, the date on it controls everything. In California you generally must file a written answer within the time stated on the summons, and if you do not, the creditor can ask the court for a default judgment. For Sherman Oaks residents, a credit card suit is typically filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court; the Van Nuys courthouse is one of the county’s courthouses, and the court clerk can confirm which location has your case. If you are unsure, check the case number on the papers and call us before the deadline passes.
Next, find out how old the debt is. In California, a lawsuit on a written contract, including most credit card agreements, must be filed within four years, and oral contract claims have a two-year limit. This is a defense you have to raise yourself in a written answer; if you stay silent, a court can still enter judgment even on an expired claim. Be careful about making a payment or signing anything on a very old account. A payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred, but a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock in some situations, so do not sign or promise anything until you have talked to a lawyer.
If a judgment has already been entered, remember that it stays enforceable for 10 years and can generally be renewed, though recent law limits renewal to one time, for five years, on personal debt judgments with unpaid principal under a set amount. On the paycheck side, an ordinary garnishment is capped by a formula tied to your disposable earnings and the minimum wage, and you can ask the court to protect more of your earnings if you can show they are needed to support yourself or your family. Your employer cannot fire you because your wages are garnished for a single judgment.
If bankruptcy is on the table, the Central District of California handles filings, and the filing division depends on your home zip code. Sherman Oaks falls within the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which sits in Woodland Hills. We confirm the division for every client before filing. One mistake to avoid: do not run up new card charges or pay back friends and family right before filing without talking to us, since both can create problems in the case.
How Bankruptcy and Settlement Compare for Credit Card Balances
Chapter 7 wipes out qualifying unsecured debt, including credit card balances, medical bills, and personal loans, and most cases finish in roughly four months. Despite the nickname liquidation, the vast majority of our clients keep everything they own. California does not use the federal exemptions; instead, you choose between two state systems, one with a large homestead exemption that favors homeowners and another with a flexible wildcard that often suits renters. You must pick one system for the whole case, and you generally must have lived in California for at least 730 days to use these exemptions. Choosing correctly is one of the most consequential decisions in a filing.
Chapter 13 fits people with steady income who need structure rather than a wipeout, or whose income exceeds the means test. Creditors are bound by the plan once the court confirms it. Debt settlement sits outside court: we negotiate with the lender to resolve the balance for less than you owe. It tends to work best when the account is not yet in litigation and you can fund a payoff. The right answer depends on how much you owe, what you own, what you earn, and whether a lawsuit is already pending, which is why the first consultation is a full review rather than a sales pitch.
It also helps to know your rights as a debtor. California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors, and a consumer who proves a collector acted willfully and knowingly can recover additional statutory damages along with actual damages and reasonable attorney fees. Claims under the Act must be brought within one year. If a collector is harassing you, tell us; it can affect your leverage in a settlement.
Sherman Oaks Credit Card Debt Questions, Answered
Can I be sued for credit card debt in Sherman Oaks?
Yes. If you stop paying, the card issuer or a company that bought the account can file a lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Being served does not mean you have lost; you have a limited time to respond, and responding is what preserves your defenses.
How long can a creditor wait before suing me?
For a written contract such as a credit card agreement, the limit is four years under California law. For an oral agreement it is two years. The clock is a defense you must raise in writing, so do not assume the court will notice an expired claim on its own.
Does a small payment restart the statute of limitations?
On a debt that is already time-barred, a payment does not revive it. A signed written acknowledgment of the debt is a different matter and can restart the period, so never sign a collector’s form without having it reviewed.
How much of my paycheck can be garnished?
On an ordinary judgment, the cap is the lesser of 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or a figure based on how far those earnings exceed a multiple of the minimum wage. Different multiples apply to biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay. You can also ask the court to exempt earnings you can prove you need to support your family.
Will bankruptcy stop a garnishment?
Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 triggers the automatic stay, which halts most garnishments, bank levies, and lawsuits the moment the case is filed. In an emergency we can often prepare and file quickly.
Is my bank account protected if a creditor levies it?
California automatically shields a set dollar amount in a deposit account from a judgment levy, and the bank applies it without you filing a claim. The protection does not cover levies for wages owed to others, child or spousal support, or debts owed to the state. The amount is adjusted periodically, so we confirm the current figure when we review your case.
Can my employer fire me over a garnishment?
No, not for a garnishment on a single judgment. State law bars an employer from terminating you for that reason. Your employer is also not automatically told if you file bankruptcy, though they may learn of it if they are a creditor or if Chapter 13 payments are taken from your pay.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if I only owe a few thousand dollars?
Often yes, particularly if you have been sued. A default judgment adds court costs and interest and opens the door to garnishment. A short consultation, which is free here, can tell you whether to answer, negotiate, or leave the debt alone.
How long can a creditor collect on a judgment already entered against me?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry. It can be renewed, but for personal debt judgments under a set principal amount, renewal is limited to one time for five years. Once enforceability ends, liens created by enforcement are extinguished.
Can I file bankruptcy if I filed before?
Yes, subject to waiting periods: 8 years between Chapter 7 filings, 4 years to file Chapter 13 after Chapter 7, 2 years between Chapter 13 filings, and generally 6 years to file Chapter 7 after Chapter 13, a period that can sometimes be shortened.
Do I have to come to an office to get help?
No. We handle cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, so you can work with an attorney from home or on your lunch break anywhere in Southern California.
Serving Credit Card Debt Clients Around Sherman Oaks and Los Angeles County
From Sherman Oaks, our firm represents clients across the San Fernando Valley, including Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. We also work with clients on the Westside and in the city proper, in Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles, and further out in Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, and Inglewood.
Our reach extends across Southern California. In Los Angeles County’s high desert we serve the Antelope Valley, including Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton. East of the county line, we help families in the Inland Empire and the 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, we represent 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. Wherever your card issuer or collector files suit, we can respond.
Talk With a Sherman Oaks Credit Card Debt Attorney Today
You do not have to wait for a garnishment notice or a court date to get answers. A Sherman Oaks credit card debt attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can review your balances, your income, any lawsuit papers, and your property, then tell you honestly whether Chapter 7, Chapter 13, settlement, or a defense to the suit is the better route. Call for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney, in person or entirely by video or phone.
If a response deadline, garnishment, or levy is close, say so when you call and we will move fast. Bring your most recent statements and any court papers, and we will help you decide on the best next step.
