We live in extremely unsettling disturbing times. The Covid-19 virus represents a scary public health threat, and the economic damage caused by our stalled economy is likely going to be felt for years to come. Families and businesses are struggling to stay safe and are struggling to pay their mortgages, their rent, their auto loan and lease payments, their utilities, their insurance bills and their medical expenses, not to mention maintaining payments to credit card companies, payday lenders, medical bills, student loan lenders and the like.
My law practice is devoted solely to bankruptcy law, representing consumer debtors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases here in the Central District Of California, which includes the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino. I have been in practice since 1989, and since 2008 I have been practicing out of my residence in Woodland Hills. Accordingly, the stay-at-home orders issued by Governor Newsom have had negligible direct impact upon my practice. Of course, with a potentially deadly virus going around and a stay-at-home order in place, I strongly encourage meetings be handled by phone, and information transferred by email, fax, mail and/or drop off, rather than in-person for the time being. The Bankruptcy Court has relaxed some of its prior rules, and now allows bankruptcy papers and other filings to be done using e-mailed or faxed signatures, so even the signatures needed to file a bankruptcy can be handled remotely. I continue to be up and running and I'm ready to meet with you by phone to analyze your financial circumstances, outline for you your various bankruptcy and nonbankruptcy options, and make recommendations to you for how best to move forward.
The following are some of what I have observed are the most frequently asked questions related the Covid-19 virus and its impact on our financial lives:
These are incredibly anxious times for all of us, both from a health and safety perspective, and from an economic perspective. Your highest priority must of course continue to be the health and safety of your family and yourselves, and I urge you to stay safe and healthy. The professionals that make up the bankruptcy system are by no means oblivious to the difficulties that all of us are facing and efforts are being made to provide relief to those most vulnerable. I urge you to hang in there, do the best you can in these trying times, and know that better days are coming...hopefully sooner rather than later.
Jeff Hagen