The Law Office of Christian Cooper

L.A. attorney friends: Interested in learning the fundamentals of Chapter 13 bankruptcy? Public Counsel is presenting a Chapter 13 basics MCLE program on Nov. 12 in Downtown L.A., moderated by yours truly. Four (4) hours of MCLE credit available. You must complete two pro bono hours prior to the program in order to attend. More information: surveymonkey.com/r/chapter13

I'm moderating this MCLE program. Attorneys and support staff are invited to attend.

New testimonial from one of my clients who recently received a discharge in her Chapter 7 bankruptcy: "He was absolutely excellent. I couldn't have asked for a better bankruptcy lawyer. He exceeded my expectations and made the whole bankruptcy process a lot easier for me. His price is decent, but worth every penny. He went step by step with me all the way through. He's a great communicator, he always kept me well informed and if I ever had a question or concern, he was there. I highly recommend him. If you are looking for a bankruptcy lawyer that will be there, and help you through the whole process every step of the way, he's your guy. I can now say I am free of debt, and I thank Christian for his help. He truly seems to care!"

While bankruptcy can lead to divorce, in fact, bankruptcy often gives troubled marriages a fighting chance.

New review from a recent client: "Christian is the attorney you want in your corner when going through (or thinking about) bankruptcy. He's knowledgeable, to the point, very professional and organized, a pleasure to deal with, and charges reasonable fees. Just look at the wealth of information he shares on his website and blog, it gives you an idea to his approach. He'll tell you what you need to know - good or bad. He'll counsel you to get the best outcome for YOUR situation, even if this means no business for him. In fact, that's probably what impressed me the most. The first time I met him, he review our situation and told us that BK is not the right move at this point. I knew then that he's truly looking out for our interests and didn't hesitate to call him back once our situation changed materially."

Some worry that bankruptcy won't stop the calls. But, the minute you file bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court issues an order telling all of your creditors to leave you alone.

Many websites promising debt relief aren't too good to be true just good enough to be plausible.

Filing for bankruptcy doesn't make you a bad person. In fact, the vast majority of the people who file bankruptcy are honest, hard-working people who file as a last resort.

The fact is, in cases where both a husband and wife have a lot of debt, either individually or jointly, it may make sense and save money for both spouses to file a joint bankruptcy case but it is never a requirement.

A common misconception about bankruptcy is that it completely destroys your credit for 10 years. This is simply not true.

When would allowing a creditor to sue you make sense? It would be helpful to delve into how collections are handled nowadays.

You can get credit after bankruptcy. Getting rid of debt puts you in a position to handle more credit, and this makes you look more attractive to would-be lenders