Southern California Bankruptcy Lawyer
Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that represents individuals, families, and small business owners across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. When people across Southern California call us, it is usually because a creditor has stopped asking and started acting: a lawsuit has been served, a paycheck is being garnished, a bank account has been frozen, or a foreclosure sale has been scheduled. A Southern California bankruptcy lawyer who handles these cases every day can tell you quickly whether filing is the right answer, and how fast it can be done.
The region is large, and the rules that matter to your case depend on where you live. Four counties feed into five divisions of one federal bankruptcy court, a dozen Los Angeles Superior Court districts handle the collection suits that often come first, and the state’s property exemptions work differently depending on whether you own a home in Riverside or rent an apartment in Santa Ana. Getting those details right at the start is what keeps your property, your paycheck, and your discharge safe.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Bankruptcy Across Southern California
The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy, certified through the American Board of Certification, a distinction held by only a small fraction of attorneys nationwide. Together with their associate attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants, the team brings more than 90 years of combined legal experience to Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, IRS tax debt, student loan strategies, second mortgage settlements, loan modification, and small business debt. The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California and serves clients throughout the Inland Empire, Orange County, the San Fernando Valley, the Antelope Valley, and the rest of the region.
Raj Wadhwani, a founding shareholder and Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy, 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 electronic filing matters when a sale date or levy is days away. Greg Shanfeld, also a founding shareholder and Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy, earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. Few attorneys have seen as many of the odd fact patterns that come up in real cases.
What clients notice first is access. You speak directly with an attorney from your very first call, consultations are free, and the firm can act fast when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away. Everything can be handled by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available, so a client in Lancaster or Laguna Niguel gets the same service as anyone else. The firm also handles alternatives to bankruptcy, which means the recommendation you get is based on what fits your situation, not on the only service on offer.
Debt Situations That Lead Southern Californians to File
- Credit Card and Medical Debt: Unsecured balances are the classic Chapter 7 target. Once a card issuer or debt buyer sues, the case lands in the superior court for your area, and a bankruptcy filing stops it in its tracks.
- Wage Garnishment: A judgment creditor can take a capped share of your disposable earnings straight from payroll. Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 halts most garnishments the moment the case is filed.
- Bank Account Levies: A frozen account can bounce rent and car payments within days. Chapter 7 or 13 ends the levy, and California also shields a baseline amount in deposit accounts automatically.
- Foreclosure and Missed Mortgage Payments: Chapter 13 lets homeowners in high-value markets like the Westside, Orange County, and the Valley catch up arrears over three to five years instead of losing the home at a trustee sale.
- Repossession and Car Loan Deficiencies: A repossessed vehicle often leaves a deficiency balance behind. That balance is dischargeable, and Chapter 13 can help you keep a car you are behind on.
- IRS Tax Debt: Some older income tax debt can be eliminated if it meets timing rules, and other tax debt can be paid through a Chapter 13 plan or resolved with the IRS directly.
- Second Mortgages: A wholly unsecured second mortgage can sometimes be stripped off in Chapter 13, and second mortgage settlements are an option outside of court.
- Small Business Debt: Owners who guaranteed business loans or ran a sole proprietorship often carry that debt personally, which makes consumer bankruptcy or negotiated business debt solutions relevant.
What to Do When a Creditor Is Already Moving Against You
Start by figuring out which stage you are at, because the deadlines are different at each one. If you have been served with a lawsuit, the response deadline is short, and an unanswered suit can end in a default judgment. A written answer matters for another reason too: California gives creditors four years to sue on a written contract and two years on an oral one, but an expired deadline is a defense you have to raise yourself. If you ignore the suit, the court can still enter judgment even on a stale debt. Also be careful about paying a little to “show good faith” on an old account. Under California law a payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred, but a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock, so do not sign anything a collector sends you without talking to an attorney.
If a judgment has already been entered, expect enforcement. A wage garnishment on an ordinary judgment is capped at the lesser of 20% of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage (the multiplier is higher for biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay), and where a local minimum wage is higher than the state’s, the local rate is used. You can also ask the court to exempt the portion of your earnings proven necessary to support yourself or your family. Your employer cannot fire you because your wages are garnished for a single judgment. If your bank account is levied, California automatically protects a baseline amount in your deposit accounts without you filing anything, though that protection does not reach levies for wages owed to others, child or spousal support, or debts owed to the state. Money judgments in California last 10 years and can be renewed, although recent law limits renewals to a single five-year extension for medical judgments under $200,000 and personal debt judgments under $50,000.
Mortgage trouble moves on a more predictable clock. After a notice of default is recorded, a sale cannot be set until about three months and 20 days have passed, and the notice of sale must be mailed and posted at least 20 days before the sale. You can reinstate a monetary default until five business days before the sale date. If a sale is postponed at least 10 business days, the lender must give you written notice of the new date within 5 business days. Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 can stop the sale outright, so if a sale date is on the calendar, call right away rather than waiting for the last week.
For a car, the lender must give at least 15 days’ written notice before disposing of a repossessed vehicle (20 days if the notice is mailed from or to an address outside California). You can request in writing that the redemption period be extended by 10 days. A deficiency claim depends on the notice going out within 60 days of repossession and containing the required items, which is a point worth checking before you pay anything.
Once you decide to file, the zip code of your home address, not a P.O. box, determines the division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California that hears your case. Los Angeles County residents are generally assigned to the Los Angeles Division, the San Fernando Valley Division in Woodland Hills, or, for some communities, the Northern Division. Orange County cases go to the Santa Ana Division, and Riverside and San Bernardino County cases go to the Riverside Division. A few communities, including Lancaster, Palmdale, and Santa Clarita, appear on the San Fernando Valley list with footnotes, so the zip code should be confirmed with the court’s locator before anything is filed. Mistakes here create delay and sometimes dismissal, which is one reason a bankruptcy petition preparer or notary is a risky substitute for a lawyer.
California’s Two Exemption Systems and What They Mean for Your Property
California has opted out of the federal exemption list. When you file, you choose one of two state systems and live with that choice for the whole case. The first, found in the ordinary exemption statutes, includes a homestead exemption that is tied to the countywide median single-family home price, subject to a statutory floor and ceiling that adjust annually for inflation. That makes it the stronger option for most homeowners with meaningful equity, especially in higher-priced coastal and Westside markets. The second system offers a much smaller residence exemption but adds a flexible wildcard that can be applied to bank accounts, a car, or other property, which often suits renters or people with little home equity. Dollar amounts in both systems are indexed and change periodically, so we pull the current numbers at the time of filing rather than guessing.
There is one eligibility wrinkle that catches people who recently moved: to use California’s exemptions you generally must have lived in the state for at least 730 days. Choosing the wrong system, or missing a residency issue, can put equity at risk, and that is where an attorney with thousands of filings behind them earns their keep. In most of our cases clients keep everything they own, because the exemptions are worked through before filing rather than after a trustee raises a problem.
Chapter 7 generally wipes out credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, payday loans, and repossession or foreclosure deficiencies, and most cases wrap up in about four months. It requires passing the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for your household size and then looks at actual expenses. Chapter 13 reorganizes debt into one payment over three to five years, binds creditors once the plan is confirmed, and suits people with steady income, mortgage or car arrears, priority tax debt, support arrears, or equity beyond what exemptions cover. Child support, alimony, most student loans, most government fines, and debts from drunk-driving injuries generally cannot be discharged.
Questions Southern California Filers Ask Us
How fast does filing stop a garnishment, levy, or lawsuit?
The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed with the court, and creditors must stop collection. In an emergency, such as a sale date or levy that is days away, we can often prepare and file very quickly.
Will I lose my house if I file Chapter 7?
Most of our 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 on payments, Chapter 13 can let you keep the home and catch up over time.
Which exemption system should I choose?
It depends on whether you own a home with equity or rent. The homestead-based system usually favors homeowners, and the wildcard-based system often favors renters. You must pick one system for your entire case, so we run the numbers both ways before filing.
Can a debt collector still sue me on an old debt?
Written contracts carry a four-year limitations period and oral contracts two years, but the deadline is a defense you must raise in a written answer. If you do not respond, a judgment can still be entered. Do not sign a written acknowledgment of the debt, because that can restart the clock.
My bank account was frozen. Is any of that money protected?
California automatically protects a set amount per judgment debtor in deposit accounts, and the bank is supposed to apply it before turning money over to the levying officer. It does not apply to levies for wages owed to another person, child or spousal support, or debts owed to the state. A bankruptcy filing stops the levy altogether.
How long does a judgment against me last?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry and can be renewed. Recent law allows only one five-year renewal for medical judgments under $200,000 and personal debt judgments under $50,000. Bankruptcy can often eliminate the judgment debt and the liens that came with it, depending on the type of debt.
Can I be fired for being garnished or filing bankruptcy?
California law bars an employer from firing you because your wages are garnished for one judgment, and employers cannot fire you solely for filing bankruptcy. Your employer is not automatically notified of a filing, though they may find out if they are a creditor or if plan payments come out of your paycheck.
What if my car was repossessed and the lender is demanding the balance?
Check whether the lender sent the required notice within 60 days with the required contents, and whether the 15-day notice period before sale was honored. A deficiency balance can be discharged in bankruptcy, and if the notice was defective, you may not owe it at all.
Do I have to go to a courthouse for my bankruptcy?
You will attend a meeting of creditors, and we prepare you for it. Cases are filed in the federal division that matches your zip code, and we handle your case by phone, email, video, and online chat so you do not need to come in for every step.
Can a collector keep contacting me while I decide?
California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as collection agencies, unlike the federal law. If a collector acted willfully and knowingly, you can recover actual damages plus an additional $100 to $1,000, and a prevailing consumer can recover attorney fees. The suit must be brought within one year, and a collector can avoid liability by correcting a curable violation within 15 days of discovering or being told about it.
How long will the bankruptcy hurt my credit?
A Chapter 7 can stay on your report for up to 10 years from filing, while Chapter 13 is typically removed after 7 years. The effect on your score fades well before that, and many clients see recovery start within a year with a secured card and on-time payments.
Can I file again if I filed before?
Yes, subject to waiting periods: 8 years between Chapter 7 filings, 4 years for Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7, 2 years between Chapter 13 filings, and generally 6 years for Chapter 7 after a Chapter 13, which can be shortened if your plan paid enough to unsecured creditors.
Southern California Bankruptcy Clients We Serve by County and Community
In Los Angeles County, we represent clients from downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Santa Monica through the San Fernando Valley communities of Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. We also serve Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park, along with Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley cities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
In Orange County, the work reaches 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 San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, we help families in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley, and in the eastern San Gabriel Valley communities of Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, and West Covina. Wherever you live in the region, we can handle your case from the first call through discharge, remotely or in person.
Talk With a Southern California Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If a lawsuit, garnishment, levy, repossession, or foreclosure sale is on the calendar, the sooner you speak with a Southern California bankruptcy attorney, the more options you keep. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation, talk directly with an attorney, and get a straight answer about whether Chapter 7, Chapter 13, settlement, or another route gives you the best fresh start. You can meet in person or handle your entire case by phone, email, video, or chat, whichever works for you.
