Guides

Plain-language guides to bankruptcy, business closure, tax problems, and debt collection defense in California, written by attorney Gregory Grigoryants. Each one follows a case stage by stage.

These guides are provided for educational purposes only. They are not legal advice, and reading them does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts, so please consult an attorney about your specific situation.

Bankruptcy

Start with the chapter that matches your situation. If you are not sure which one that is, the Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 guides each explain how to tell them apart.

How Chapter 7 bankruptcy works Who qualifies, what you keep, and each step from the first review of your finances to the discharge order. Read the guide How Chapter 13 bankruptcy works The repayment plan that stops a foreclosure and lets you catch up over three to five years. Read the guide Chapter 11, Subchapter V for small business How a small business reorganizes its debt, keeps operating, and stays with its owners. Read the guide Discharging student loans in bankruptcy The undue hardship standard, the lawsuit inside the bankruptcy, and the government’s attestation process. Read the guide Reaffirmation agreements and keeping your car Your four options for a financed vehicle in Chapter 7, including California’s retain-and-pay law. Read the guide

Closing a Business

For owners deciding whether to reorganize or to close, and how to close without leaving personal exposure behind.

How to close a business in California: the orderly wind-down Employees, the lender, the lease, the FTB, CDTFA, and EDD, and creditors, in the order to deal with them, through dissolution or a company Chapter 7. Read the guide

Tax Resolution

For individuals and businesses dealing with the IRS, the Franchise Tax Board, or the CDTFA, whether the problem is an audit or a balance that cannot be paid.

IRS and FTB audits: what to expect The notice, the document requests, the examination, and the appeal paths at the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board. Read the guide IRS and FTB offers in compromise: settling tax debt for less How the government decides what it will accept, and what you are agreeing to for five years afterward. Read the guide Payment plans with the IRS and the FTB The kinds of installment agreements, stopping levies, the lien question, and staying in good standing. Read the guide CDTFA sales tax audits for California businesses Test periods, indirect methods, the Notice of Determination, and personal liability when a business closes. Read the guide Currently Not Collectible and FTB hardship status Putting a tax debt on hold when you cannot pay anything: who qualifies, the financial statement, levy release, and what happens while the clock runs. Read the guide Removing IRS and FTB penalties Which penalties can be removed, first-time relief, reasonable cause, and what to do when the request is denied. Read the guide Tax liens and levies: release, withdrawal, and relief What each agency can take, the notice that must come first, and release, withdrawal, discharge, and subordination. Read the guide Unfiled tax returns: catching up with the IRS and the FTB Transcripts, substitute returns, how many years to file, reconstructing records, and resolving the balance. Read the guide Payroll tax debt and the trust fund recovery penalty The trust fund portion, stopping the bleeding, the investigation interview, and the owner’s personal exposure. Read the guide EDD audits and worker classification Triggers, the ABC test and its exemptions, fieldwork, the Notice of Assessment, and the petition. Read the guide

Debt Collection Defense

For anyone who has been sued on a debt, had wages garnished, or is hearing from a collector, and wants to know what the law allows on both sides.

Sued by a debt collector in California The 30-day deadline, who is suing, the answer and its defenses, and how the case ends. Read the guide Wage garnishment in California: how much can be taken and how to stop it How much can be withheld, the claim of exemption and hearing, and other ways to stop it. Read the guide The statute of limitations on debt in California Four years for most debts, what moves the clock, time-barred debt, and ten-year judgments. Read the guide Settling a collection lawsuit Timing, the number, the stipulation for entry of judgment, and closing the file properly. Read the guide What debt collectors may not do Federal and California limits on collectors, the validation notice, documenting, and remedies. Read the guide
Attorney Gregory Grigoryants
About the author
Gregory Grigoryants, Esq.

Gregory Grigoryants is a California attorney (State Bar No. 286804) who has represented individuals, families, and business owners in bankruptcy, debt collection defense, and tax resolution matters for more than 13 years. He practices from offices in Sherman Oaks and Beverly Hills and speaks English and Russian.

State Bar of California profile  ·  About the firm

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