Jen|Lee|Law

Main Office Phone: 925-586-6738
Offices in San Ramon, San Francisco, and Tracy, CA
Contact Us
  • Blog
  • About
    • About Jen
    • About Connie
    • About Leo
    • Office Staff
  • FAQ’s & Resources
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • FAQ’s & Resources
    • Media
    • Monthly Newsletters
    • Testimonials
  • Services
    • Current Clients
    • Individuals
    • Employees Are Assets
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Schedule Appointment
  • Gift Cards

December 27, 2011 By jenleelaw

Can I Get Rid of Traffic Tickets in Bankruptcy?

This question has come up quite a bit lately – is it possible to get rid of traffic tickets by filing bankruptcy?

Unfortunately, the answer is generally no. Traffic tickets are considered a fine payable to a government or municipality, which usually makes them survive a bankruptcy filing. Generally, you will still owe on the traffic tickets after your bankruptcy is over. Many counties accept payment plans or alternative arrangements for fines and fees.

Another way to clear up older traffic tickets is through a recently enacted program in California. The program offers a discount on the fines owed for old traffic tickets. The program runs from January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012. In order to be eligible, the following conditions must be met:

  • Traffic ticket where the amount was due and payable in full before January 1, 2009;
  • The last payment was made on or before January 1, 2009;
  • No restitution is owed to the victim on any case within the county where the traffic case was filed; and
  • No outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrants within the county where the traffic case was filed.

The program allows for a 50% discount on traffic tickets. Parking tickets, DUI, and reckless driving cases are not eligible for the program.

Here are the details on the programs for old traffic tickets in Alameda County and
traffic tickets in Contra Costa County.

This is just a basic overview and is not legal advice specific to your situation. If you are considering bankruptcy or are feeling overwhelmed by debt, you should speak with an attorney in your area for legal advice. To speak with me regarding your situation, please email me at jen@jenleelaw.com or call 925-586-6738.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Process

October 11, 2011 By jenleelaw

What is a Bankruptcy Petition Preparer?

This guy said he would only charge me $500 to prepare my bankruptcy…

This is something I go over in every initial consultation – you do not have to have an attorney to file for bankruptcy. However, attorneys are the only people who can give you legal advice specific to your situation.

I get quite a few inquiries regarding bankruptcy petition preparers who will “do your bankruptcy” for only $500. What are they actually “doing”? They cannot give you legal advice, appear at your Meeting of Creditors as your attorney, or even tell you how to list your property on your schedules. The only thing a bankruptcy petition preparer can do is type what you tell them to type on a form.

In addition, there are local court rules that often limit how much a non-attorney can charge to prepare your documents. For example, in the Oakland Division (Northern District of California), a non-attorney can charge a maximum of $150 to prepare your documents. The trustee will ask at the Meeting of Creditors how much you paid and I have heard ridiculous amounts – amounts close to what an attorney would charge.

If you do hire a bankruptcy petition preparer, please make sure that he or she follows the requirements for bankruptcy petition preparers:

  1. Provide a written contract with a description of their services and total fees.
  2. Provide you with written disclosures on the different kinds of bankruptcy and the process.
  3. Identify as a debt relief agency under the federal bankruptcy code.
  4. Not use the word “legal” or any similar term in any of their advertising or materials.
  5. File a disclosure statement with the court that tells the court how much they charged you for bankruptcy petition preparation services.

No matter who you hire to help you with your bankruptcy, make sure that you read through every page of your bankruptcy filing before you sign it. You are signing under penalty of perjury that everything in the documents is accurate and correct to the best of your knowledge.

This is just a basic overview and is not legal advice specific to your situation. If you are considering bankruptcy or are feeling overwhelmed by debt, you should speak with an attorney in your area for legal advice. To speak with me regarding your situation, please email me at jen@jenleelaw.com or call 925-586-6738.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Process

September 15, 2011 By jenleelaw

Who Files for Bankruptcy?

Even considering filing for bankruptcy can be a very stressful time in anyone’s life. It’s hard to think about the process and what the consequences might be. The Institute for Financial Literacy just released a new study on who is filing for bankruptcy these days and I thought you might find some of the results interesting (and possibly reassuring). These statistics are for 2010 filings and the report has information for 2006-2010.

Age of Debtor
1.33% 18-24 years old
15.44% 25-34 years old
27.54% 35-44 years old
28.45% 45-54 years old
18.12% 55-64 years old
9.12% 65 years or older

From my experience, many who are 45 years are older are struggling with unemployment, medical bills, and lack of retirement savings. This group does not have a budgeting problem, but probably used credit cards to pay for living expenses while looking for a job, so high credit card balances may also be causing difficulties. In addition, many people are facing foreclosure or have multiple mortgages on underwater homes that bankruptcy can help with obtaining a better outcome.

Education Level of Debtor

6.73% Graduate Level
13.58% Bachelor’s Level
8.82% Associate’s Level
28.73% Some College Level
36.27% High School/GED Level
5.38% Primary School Level


The interesting part of these statistics is the change from 2006 to 2010. Higher educated debtors have dramatically increased as a percentage of bankruptcy filings, while those with some college or a high school diploma have decreased as a percentage of bankruptcy filings. I think we are seeing the effect of unemployment for those with degrees, in addition to high student loan debt impacting who files for bankruptcy.

Income of Debtor
38.18% Less than $20,000/year
21.35% $20,000-$30,000/year
14.67% $30,000-$40,000/year
10.05% $40,000-$50,000/year
6.56% $50,000-$60,000/year
9.18% More than $60,000/year

Again, the interesting statistic here is that the percentage of those filing for bankruptcy who make more than $60,000 has nearly doubled since 2006. This also really depends on where you live. I would say that a majority of people I meet with make over $50,000/year because of the cost of living in Northern California.

Bottom Line
People of all ages, education levels, and incomes are filing for bankruptcy because of the economy, housing values, high student loans, and lack of ability to pay everything off. Bankruptcy is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, but it is a useful and flexible tool for many different situations. If you are struggling to make ends meet and are overwhelmed by debt in California, please contact me to schedule an appointment.

This is just a basic overview and is not legal advice specific to your situation. If you are considering bankruptcy or are feeling overwhelmed by debt, you should speak with an attorney in your area for legal advice. To speak with me regarding your situation, please email me at jen@jenleelaw.com or call 925-586-6738.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Process

August 28, 2011 By jenleelaw

My Credit Card Company is Suing Me-Now What?

One of the main reasons people call me to discuss bankruptcy options is that they were just served with a lawsuit. Usually a bank or credit card company has not received payments in several months and they’ve hired a law firm to try and collect some or all of the balance due. Ignoring the summons for the lawsuit is a bad idea, but there are several options you can consider.

Make Payment Arrangements

If you acknowledge that you owe the debt and can afford to pay it back over time, you can call the attorney who filed the lawsuit and discuss repayment options. This will usually suspend the lawsuit, as long as you are making payments on the debt. Generally, the law firm will want to do automatic monthly payments from your checking account.

If you have multiple credit cards that you are behind on and it is quite possible that there will be multiple lawsuits against you, a payment plan might not be feasible.

File an Answer (Response)

If you have some reason to believe you do not owe the money or there is some question around the debt, you also have the option of filing an answer with the court. The response form is included when you are served with a lawsuit, so you would need to fill that out, pay the filing fee, and file the documents with the court. You usually have 30 days from the day you are served to file your response.

Consider Bankruptcy

Many times, people have other financial issues besides that one credit card that need to be handled. When you file for bankruptcy, the court case for the credit card is put on hold while the bankruptcy is processed. When (if) you receive your bankruptcy discharge, that court case is then dismissed and the creditor can no longer come after you for that debt.

Ignoring the Summons

So what happens if you totally ignore the summons? After the 30 days has passed for you to respond, the lawyer for the credit card will obtain a default judgment against you. After the judgment is granted, the lawyer is able to obtain a judgment lien. A judgment lien can result in a lien on your house, garnishment of your bank account, and/or wage garnishment as well.

It is very important for you to deal with a summons for a lawsuit before your accounts or wages are garnished. If you are in this situation in CA, please feel free to contact me at 925-586-6738 or jen@jenleelaw.com to discuss your options.

This is just a basic overview and is not legal advice specific to your situation. If you are considering bankruptcy or are feeling overwhelmed by debt, you should speak with an attorney in your area for legal advice. To speak with me regarding your situation, please email me at jen@jenleelaw.com or call 925-586-6738.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Process, Credit

August 17, 2011 By jenleelaw

What About My Credit Score?

I probably get asked this question at least ten times a day – really any time I meet with anyone to talk about bankruptcy. Won’t filing bankruptcy ruin my credit score? My general answers to this inquiry:

First – why do you care about your credit score?

A credit score is mostly useful for…getting credit, which is often part of the problem when considering bankruptcy. Granted, there are situations where a credit score is used to determine deposits or a credit report is run for a job because you are handling money, but this being stuck on credit scores thing is exactly what the card issuers want. They want you to apply for their cards, keep a balance, and pay them lots of interest. There’s also another myth out there that you can’t buy a house for 10 years after filing bankruptcy – don’t even get me started on that one (but I will do a follow-up blog post on that topic).

Second – Is your credit score all that great now that you have not been making credit card or mortgage payments for the last 12 months?

Most of the people considering bankruptcy already have a fairly low credit score. Bankruptcy is not going to make it lower. In fact, that fresh start often increases your credit score. The reason for this is that you are a better risk without all of that debt hanging over your head. Not that I’m advocating going out and applying for new credit cards, but bankruptcy isn’t a financial death sentence.

Third – Are you ready to plan for the future?

I always tell clients that I never want to see repeat business in my line of work. Part of the bankruptcy process should involve setting up your future with savings and retirement accounts. Many credit problems can be solved by having a good-sized downpayment available for large purchases, like houses and cars. When you file for bankruptcy, you have the possibility to grab that fresh start and create a great future for yourself by understanding your budget and being honest about what you can afford.

This is just a basic overview and is not legal advice specific to your situation. If you are considering bankruptcy or are feeling overwhelmed by debt, you should speak with an attorney in your area for legal advice. To speak with me regarding your situation, please email me at jen@jenleelaw.com or call 925-586-6738 in the East Bay or 209-322-4651 in Tracy.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Process, Credit

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • Next Page »

Disclaimer and Additional Information

LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT. The information included on this website is not intended as legal advice. You should consult with a lawyer before acting on any information contained in this website.

Jen Lee Law, Inc. is a federally designated Debt Relief Agency. Jen Lee helps clients file for bankruptcy protection under the laws of the United States.

Recent Blog Posts

  • The Business Power Hour with Deb Krier
  • Managing Business Debt on PROFIT with a Plan
  • MONEY LOVES WOMEN Podcast
  • 5 Ways Small Businesses Can Recoup Pandemic Losses
  • And the lesson is…

Follow Me

Facebooktwitterlinkedinyoutubeby feather
NACBA logo         NACA logo

© Copyright 2021 Jen Lee Law. All Rights Reserved.