Category: Consumer Columnists

“Once you fall behind on your debt obligations, it is easy to ignore the situation and hope that things will get better on their own. But that will never happen…

EDGAR Orozco was an electrician working as an hourly employee for Ardent Companies, Inc., which provide services to drilling operations off the California coast, including on fixed off-shore oil platforms….

THE first client is 82. He is married. “What’s the problem?” I ask. He says that he owes about $15,000 of credit cards and his wife owes about $10,000 of…

ONE common misconception people have is that if they file bankruptcy, they will lose everything that they’ve worked hard for. For this reason, a lot of people continue to suffer…

Q: I WAS diagnosed with herniated disc and severe anxiety. I want to request leave but want to keep my privacy at work. Do I need to tell my employer…

THE client is 50 and single but has a cousin who lives with him. The cousin has been employed on and off and has lived with him for 10 years….

Independent contractor status harm most workers With nearly $200 million in funding from app-based companies like Uber and Lyft, California’s Proposition 22 was voted into law by Californians. It is…

ARE you sick and tired of being in debt and having bad credit? Do you want to start over but simply don’t know where to begin? Is filing bankruptcy an…

Commission-based employees owed for non-sales work STEVE Johnson and Scott Scollitt worked as mortgage loan originators for U.S. Bank National Association. These employees sued their employer for unpaid wages and…

THE client just turned 67 and has been working for 40 years at a job that pays him $70K a year. He retired two months ago so he doesn’t make…

MANY people find themselves in the position of facing overwhelming debt, with constant calls from creditors and no obvious way out. For some, job loss sent them into a downward…

FAMILY of 3: $40,000 credit cards owed Client no. 1 is so young. She is in her late 30s. I remember when I was that young —a young lawyer with…

The overtime compensation for ‘live-out’ employees is computed in the same way as that of a regular non-exempt employee who works in other occupations. This means ‘live-out’ household employees must…

FIRST of all, you are not alone. I just read the news today and experts are warning us again about expected spikes in COVID cases for the rest of the…

Q: WHEN California’s Safer at Home Order took effect in March 2020, I and my co-workers were instructed to work from home. Since then, I have had to buy a…

Qualify for different chapters of bankruptcy code Most debtors prefer to have a Chapter 7 wipe out of debt. This is called a fresh start without debt. Most debtors who…

WHEN the virus makes your income disappear overnight, it can be very frightening to realize that you can’t go very long without it because your bills don’t stop just because…

Q: I WAS off work for 2 months as a result of my COVID-19 infection. I was hospitalized and received treatments while under quarantine, Thank God I was eventually relieved…

THE client is 42 and is going through a divorce after a short two-year marriage. He has moved out of the marital home and now lives by himself. He has…

THIS has got to be the best news I have heard recently! Given the huge job losses and high unemployment rate that have left many unable to pay their debts,…

Independent contractors are in business for themselves and generally work on a freelance basis, often with several clients. They either have specialized skills (e.g., actors, writers) or advanced degrees (e.g.,…

THE client is young in his 50s. Believe me, that’s young. This is not only mentally young, but physically, 50s is still quite young. It is said that the 60s…

Lauren Scricca worked as a Clinical Nurse for the University of California Irvine Medical Center (UCI) and was assigned to the Acute Rehab Unit. Throughout the 10 years she worked…