The Law Offices of Jeffrey D. Rowe has offices located in Fresno and Merced California.

We are a debt relief agency and offer individuals and families assistance in filing bankruptcy under Federal Law. We offer our bankruptcy clients interpretation services in Spanish and Punjabi. Call our offices today at (559) 228-1500 or (209) 722-3700.

The office is located at 720 West 19th Street, Merced, California. Both our Fresno and Merced offices offers interpretation services in Spanish and Punjabi. The telephone number for the Merced office is 209-733-3700. Contact my assistant Mandy for an immediate appointment

There are four federal judicial districts in the State of California.

My Fresno and Merced law offices files bankruptcy cases for individuals residing in Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Madera, Merced and Mariposa counties These counties are in the the Eastern District of California.

The Eastern District of California covers a total of 34 counties in northern California. If your residence, principal place of business or principal assets have been located in one or more of these counties for the necessary period of time, you should file your case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California.

The specific county of your residence, principal place of business or principal assets determines in which of the Eastern District of California’s three divisions your case should be filed. Use the following chart to determine where to file your case.

Sacramento Division

Alpine
Amador
Butte
Colusa
El Dorado
Glenn
Lassen
Modoc Mono
Nevada
Placer
Plumas
Sacramento
San Joaquin
Shasta
Sierra Siskiyou
Solona
Sutter
Tehama
Trinity
Yolo
Yuba
Office of the Clerk
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Robert T. Matsui
United States Courthouse
501 I Street, Suite 3-200
Sacramento, CA 95814-2322
(916) 930-4400

Modesto Division
Calaveras
Stanislaus
Tuolumne

Office of the Clerk
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
1200 I Street, Suite 4
Modesto, CA 95354
(209) 521-5160

Fresno Bankruptcy Court

Fresno
Inyo
Kern
Kings
Madera
Mariposa
Merced
Tulare
Office of the Clerk
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Robert E. Coyle
United States Courthouse
2500 Tulare Street, Suite 2501
Fresno, CA 93721-1318
(559) 499-5800

Please contact my office for attorney referrals in the Sacramento and Modesto Divisions. Although Kern and Inyo counties cases are filed the 341 meetings of creditors and court hearings are held in Bakersfield. I also refer those cases to attorneys in those counties. My Fresno office provides provides Spanish and Punjabi interpreters for our bankruptcy clients

Arizona law professor Brent T. White recently wrote an article Underwater and Not Walking Away: Shame, Fear and the Social Management of the Housing Crisis addressing this group of homeowners’ dilemma. He writes that many of these families’ decisions arebased on: 1) the desire to avoid the fear and shame of a foreclosure; (2) or exaggerated anxiety over the consequences of a foreclosure. Although he does not pinpoint the real issue (emotion), the article does a good job of analyzing the homeowner who continue to pay on mortgages that exceed the value of the home, compared to businesses or investors who would make an “economic” vs. “emotional” decision.

Regardless of who you ask the decision is a very difficult one. I encounter this question almost weekly in my practice and there is no easy answers. It is also true that guilt, shame and embarrassment are prime motivating factors in staying in a house that has negative equity or one that you can’t afford. The emotions of guilt, shame and embarrassment regarding your finances are often solitary ones that eat away you and your family until it becomes to much to handle on your own.

If this describes your situation, call my office today, and we will discuss your financial situation in detail, including making difficult decisions. My law office offers interpreting in native Spanish and Punjabi for our bankruptcy clients.

The the District operates a hospital and clinics in Fresno and Tulare Counties. Their financial struggles have been building, but they have attempted non-bankruptcy measures before pursuing bankruptcy reorganization.

In a statement released by SKHCD, the hospital stated it would continue to remain open during the financial reorganization.

“Chapter 9 will best protect patients, employees and citizens of the district,” said Sanford Haskins, the CEO of SKCHD. “We are confident we can increase our revenues to the point we can reorganize.”

The case was filed in the Fresno Bankruptcy Court and will most likely be administered by the existing board.

The Chicago Cubs filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in an effort to sell the team and stave off its creditors. The bankruptcy has been anticipated and is expected to facilitate the sale and continuation of operations of the team.

After the intial consultation, this guy went home and thought about the bankruptcy process and its implications. He was in debt up to his eye balls, lost his job and was under a lot of financial distress, but the attorney’s statement about selling assets began troubling him since he did not have much stuff (legal term for “assets”).

He began mentally obsessing about the possiblity of his creditors showing up at his door to sell his dog. Mental obsession and fear are actually a very common attribute of individuals and families facing tough financial situations, including choosing to talk with a bankruptcy lawyer.  They begin to focus in on their greatest fears: threats from creditors; calls from creditors at work; losing retirement benefits; losing their home etc.

This was the first time I heard about someone fearing the loss of a family pet to creditors in bankruptcy. As crazy as the possiblity sounds, I completely understand the mindset of fear and misinformation. I see it everyday.

More likely than not the guy didn’t understand that certain things are automatically protected in bankruptcy ( the legal term is “exemptions”) from creditors. In California (each state is different on what you can keep in bankruptcy) you make an election of the type of exemptions apply in your particular case.

If this guy was located in California, and with proper legal advice his dog would be protected from the clutches of his creditors. It was probably never at risk, but the human mind can conjur up some pretty powerful fears.

To clarify, in bankruptcy, the Chapter 7 or 13 trustee is responsible for selling “non-exempt assets”, and so long as the dog was not a rare breed (the dog was a mix) or the guy was not running a dog breeding business with dogs that had championship blood lines, more likely than not the dog would be considered personal property that the trustee would have no interest in trying to sell (even if it could not be “exempted”). 

Two good points to remember: (1) you are not alone if you’re obsessing about your fears and concerns – losing your house, the punch in the stomach ever time the phone rings, job loss or losing prized possessions; (2) getting good advice about your situation – which requires you to discussing your entire financial picture, including your assets (equity in your house, car, boats etc.)

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One of the largest Jack in the Box franchise owners, Abe Alizaden, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for his 70 Jack in the Box fast food restaurants in early September. The Chapter 11 filing seeks reorganization of debts of Korba Associates, Inc. — the corporate entity that owns and operates Jack in the Box restaurants from Redding to Fresno.

 The filing took place in the Eastern District of California, Sacramento (the same judicial district for the Fresno Bankruptcy Court).

Alizaden, a real estate developer and former owner of the Triple A baseball team the Portland Beavers, filed Chapter 11 for his real estate business in 2008. He also owns TGF restaurants, but they are not included in the bankruptcy filing.

The 11 Fresno Jack in the Box locations were temporarily closed due to the filing, but now have reopened.

In total, the company employs approximately 2000 employees, and as of 2007, was doing approximately 100 million in sales.

According to the bankruptcy filing, Kobra owes approximately $1.5 million in back taxes and large amounts in insurance payments, utilities and franchise fees to Jack in the Box, Inc. As one of the largest Jack in the Box franchise owners, its unclear whether the Chapter 11 reorganization will allow its creditors to be repaid or whether the corporate parent Jack in the Box may seek to take over the restaurants. Stay tuned.