Van Nuys Credit Card Debt Lawyer
Credit card debt is one of the few debts where the clock, the paperwork, and the court you are sued in can matter more than the balance itself. A card account that has been sold to a debt buyer may be too old to sue on, a lawsuit you ignore can produce a judgment even when the debt is time-barred, and a judgment can follow you for a decade. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles credit card debt through Chapter 7, Chapter 13, settlement, and defense of collection lawsuits for people in Van Nuys and across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.
If you are searching for a Van Nuys credit card debt lawyer, you are probably at one of a few points: the minimum payments no longer cover the interest, a collector has started calling your job, or a summons has arrived. Each of those points calls for a different response, and the right answer is not always bankruptcy. Sometimes it is a negotiated settlement, sometimes it is a written answer to a lawsuit, and sometimes it is a limitations defense that ends the case entirely.
Why the Age and Ownership of Your Card Debt Change Everything
Before choosing a strategy, we look at who owns the debt and how old it is. California gives a collector four years to sue on a written contract, which is the rule that governs most credit card agreements and book account claims. Debts based on an oral agreement have only two years. Once that period runs, the debt is time-barred, but the protection is not automatic. It is a defense you must raise in a written answer to the lawsuit. If you do not respond, a court can still enter judgment against you on a debt that was too old to collect.
Many people also hurt their position without knowing it. A small payment on a time-barred card does not revive it under California law, but a signed written acknowledgment of the debt can restart the clock. Collectors sometimes push for a “good faith” payment or a signature on a form, and those requests deserve a pause and a call to a lawyer first.
Ownership matters too. Original creditors and third-party collectors are both covered by California’s Rosenthal Act, which is broader than the federal collection statute because it reaches the bank that issued your card, not just the agencies it hires. A consumer harmed by a violation can recover actual damages, and a court may add $100 to $1,000 when the collector acted willfully and knowingly. A prevailing consumer can also recover reasonable attorney fees. The window to bring a Rosenthal claim is one year, and it must be an individual action rather than a class case. Harassing calls, threats to contact your employer, and false statements about what a collector can do are the kinds of conduct we review.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Credit Card Debt Relief
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families, and the firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification: founding shareholder Raj Wadhwani and founding shareholder Greg Shanfeld. Together the firm’s attorneys bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience to Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, and the other debt problems that grow out of credit card balances. Clients throughout the San Fernando Valley, the Westside, Orange County, and the Inland Empire can speak directly with an attorney from the first call, and the first consultation is free.
Raj Wadhwani, a Southwestern Law School graduate, helped pilot the Best Case Bankruptcy software 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 debtor, that depth matters in practical ways: the choice between exemption systems, the timing of a filing relative to a garnishment or bank levy, and the decision between settling and discharging are all judgment calls that a form-filling service cannot make for you.
The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and it can act fast when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away. Cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available, so a busy schedule in Van Nuys does not have to stand in the way of getting help. The advice is also not limited to one tool. Because the firm handles both bankruptcy and its alternatives, you hear which path fits your income, property, and goals, including when bankruptcy is not the right answer.
Common Credit Card Debt Situations We Handle
- Revolving Balances You Cannot Outrun: When minimum payments barely touch the principal, Chapter 7 can discharge unsecured card debt if you pass the means test, while Chapter 13 folds the balances into a single payment over three to five years if your income is too high or you need to protect property.
- Collection Lawsuits From Debt Buyers: A summons from a firm acting for a card issuer or debt buyer starts a response deadline. We assess whether to answer and raise a defense, negotiate, or file bankruptcy, which freezes the suit through the automatic stay.
- Time-Barred Accounts: Old charged-off cards past the four-year written-contract period may be defensible, but only if the limitations defense is properly raised in a written answer.
- Wage Garnishment After Judgment: Once a creditor holds a judgment, it can garnish wages, limited by statute to the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or a figure tied to the minimum wage. A bankruptcy filing halts most garnishments when the case is filed.
- Frozen or Levied Bank Accounts: A judgment creditor can levy your deposit account. California automatically protects a set amount per judgment debtor without any claim form, but amounts above that can be taken unless an exemption applies.
- Cards Used During Hardship: Job loss, medical bills, divorce, or a failed small business often push people onto credit cards to cover rent and groceries. We look at how recent charges are treated before a filing.
- Settlement Negotiations: For people with some resources who want to avoid bankruptcy, we negotiate directly with the lender to settle for less than the balance owed.
- Mixed Debt Loads: Credit cards often sit beside personal loans, medical bills, IRS debt, or a second mortgage, which can change whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 is the better fit.
What to Do Now If Card Debt Is Closing In
Start by gathering everything you have been sent: statements, collection letters, and especially any court papers. If you were served with a summons and complaint, the deadline to respond runs from the date of service, and missing it invites a default judgment. In Los Angeles County, collection suits are filed in the Superior Court, and the Van Nuys courthouse is one of the county’s courthouse locations. The county court system is divided into twelve geographic districts, so where a case lands depends on the facts of the filing. Do not assume a collector’s lawsuit is a bluff; courts enter judgments on unanswered complaints every day.
Do not sign anything or make a payment on an old account until you know whether it is time-barred. A signed written acknowledgment can restart the limitations period, while an ordinary payment cannot revive a debt that has already expired. Keep a log of every collector call, including dates and the names used, because it supports a Rosenthal Act claim if the conduct crossed a line.
If a judgment already exists, learn its entry date. A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and a renewal application can extend it. For personal debt judgments with unpaid principal under $50,000, current law limits renewal to a single five-year extension. If a wage garnishment is already underway, your employer cannot fire you because of garnishment on a single judgment, and you can ask the court to exempt the portion of earnings you can show is needed to support yourself and your family.
When bankruptcy becomes the right answer, the filing division depends on your home zip code. Van Nuys falls within the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which sits in Woodland Hills. The moment the petition is filed, the automatic stay halts lawsuits, garnishments, and bank levies. Call before a sale date, levy, or response deadline arrives, because preparation takes less time than most people expect and a quick filing can stop the damage.
How Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Treat Credit Card Debt
Chapter 7 discharges qualifying unsecured debt, which includes credit card balances, and most cases finish in roughly four months. Eligibility turns on the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for your household size and then considers your actual expenses. Although Chapter 7 is called liquidation, the vast majority of our clients keep everything they own, because California’s exemption laws protect home equity, vehicles, household goods, tools of the trade, and retirement accounts.
California filers must use one of two state exemption systems for the entire case, because the state has opted out of the federal exemptions. One system carries a large homestead exemption that benefits homeowners; the other uses a flexible wildcard that often works better for renters. You must also have lived in California long enough to use these exemptions. Choosing between the two systems is among the most consequential decisions in a case, and it is made with your property in view.
Chapter 13 suits people with steady income who need structure rather than a wipeout, particularly if they are behind on a mortgage or car loan, have income above the Chapter 7 limits, or carry priority debt that Chapter 7 cannot eliminate. Creditors are bound once the court confirms the plan. If you previously filed, waiting periods apply between cases, so your filing history shapes the available options.
Credit Card Debt Questions From Van Nuys Clients
Can a credit card company sue me in Los Angeles County?
Yes. Issuers and debt buyers file collection suits in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and you must respond in writing by the deadline on the summons. Ignoring it can lead to a default judgment, even on a debt that was too old to sue on.
How long do credit card companies have to sue in California?
Four years for written contract and book account claims, and two years for oral contracts. Because the expired deadline is a defense you must raise, it protects you only if you answer the suit.
Does making a small payment restart the clock?
A payment on a debt that is already time-barred does not revive it. A signed written acknowledgment of the debt, however, can restart the limitations period, so be careful about forms a collector asks you to sign.
Will Chapter 7 wipe out my credit cards?
In most cases yes, if you qualify under the means test. Credit card balances are unsecured debt and are generally dischargeable, although recent luxury charges or cash advances can raise questions that we address before filing.
Can bankruptcy stop a wage garnishment?
Filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 triggers the automatic stay, which stops most garnishments as of the filing. We can often prepare a case quickly when a paycheck is already being taken.
How much of my paycheck can be garnished for credit card debt?
For an ordinary judgment, the limit is the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or 40% of the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage. Biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay periods use different multiples, and a higher local minimum wage is used when it applies. You can also ask the court to exempt earnings you can show are necessary for your family’s support.
Is my bank account protected from a creditor levy?
California automatically protects a set amount in deposit accounts per judgment debtor without a claim of exemption, and the bank must apply it before turning money over. That protection does not apply to levies for wages owed to others, support, or debts owed to the state, and the protected amount is adjusted periodically.
How long can a creditor collect on a judgment?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and the creditor can seek renewal. For personal debt judgments under $50,000 in unpaid principal, renewal is limited to one time for five years.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a collection lawsuit over a smaller balance?
Often yes. A default judgment on even a modest balance can open the door to garnishment and bank levies, and a limitations or standing defense may end the case. A consultation is free, so you can learn whether answering, settling, or filing makes sense.
Can a collector call my employer about my credit card debt?
Contacting an employer to pressure payment can violate California’s Rosenthal Act, which covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors. Keep a record of the calls, since a prevailing consumer can recover damages and attorney fees.
Will my employer find out if I file bankruptcy?
Not automatically. They may learn of it if they are a creditor, if a garnishment must stop, or if Chapter 13 payments are deducted from your pay. State and federal law bar an employer from firing you solely because you filed.
Do I need to come to an office to start?
No. Wadhwani & Shanfeld handles cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and offers 100% virtual consultations.
Credit Card Debt Representation From Van Nuys Across Southern California
We represent clients in Van Nuys and the surrounding San Fernando Valley, including Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar, as well as Hollywood and Santa Monica on the Westside. Across Los Angeles County our reach extends to Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, Huntington Park, and the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
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 San Bernardino and Riverside Counties and the Inland Empire, we serve Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley, along with Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, and West Covina in the eastern San Gabriel Valley. Wherever you live, credit card collection suits, garnishments, and bankruptcy filings follow the same legal framework, and we apply it to your income and property.
Talk With a Van Nuys Credit Card Debt Attorney Today
Whether you hold a summons you have not answered, a garnishment already reducing your paycheck, or a pile of balances that never shrinks, a Van Nuys credit card debt attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can tell you where you stand and what each option would cost and protect. Call for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney, or arrange a virtual meeting that fits your schedule. You will get a straight recommendation, including when settlement or a defense is a better route than filing.
