Palo Alto Office
Palo Alto Bankruptcy Lawyer
Bankruptcy is not a dirty word but a sound financial decision. You do not have to live with burdensome debt and it is not the end of the world if you have to file for bankruptcy protection. After attending a free consultation with our experienced Palo Alto bankruptcy lawyer you will know if bankruptcy is right for you. At West Coast Bankruptcy Attorneys we strive to put our clients in the best financial position after the bankruptcy case is complete.
One of the most frequently asked questions is about married couples and whether both spouses should file a joint petition or one spouse file as single. To accomplish, we recommend discharging all debts owed by both spouses in the bankruptcy. Why leave one spouse with $3,000 in credit card debt after the case is completed? We highly recommend that a joint petition for bankruptcy is filed, but there are exceptions to the rule and ultimately it is your decision. If you do not want to file a joint petition, you do not have to under the Bankruptcy Code. The problem is that many clients and potential clients only want the spouse with all of the debt in their name to file bankruptcy and not the spouse with little or no debt. The issue is whether both spouses are jointly liable for the debt. Debts are created by contract, and in most cases credit card agreements are only signed by one spouse, possibly before marriage or even after marriage. Being married will not generally make both spouses liable for a contract entered into by only one spouse. Furthermore, Section 524 of the Bankruptcy Code, Effect of Discharge, provides that the marital community will receive the benefit of the filing spouse’s discharge, which results in the property obtained by the community after the bankruptcy is safe from creditors. What does this mean? It means that if a creditor has the right to seek payment from the non-filing spouse and tries to seek payment from the non-filing spouse; the creditor can only seek payment from the non-filing spouses separate property. Separate property consists of assets obtained prior to marriage, by inheritance or gift during marriage.
Palo Alto has some of the most high profile companies on the internet and in technology fields. Palo Alto has approximately 6,000 businesses that employ over 90,000 people while the population of Palo Alto is just over 58,000 residents. Palo Alto has the headquarters or a large presence for the following: Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, Tesla Motors, Groupon, Dell, Lockheed Martin and many more. File a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in the 94301, 94302, 94303, 94304, 94305, 94306, 94307, 94308, 94309, 94310 zip codes.
By
Ryan
C. Wood