The day you file bankruptcy, every collection call, lawsuit, levy and repossession has to stop under the automatic stay, and creditors who keep going after notice can be sanctioned. Before you file, California's Rosenthal Act and the federal FDCPA already limit when and how collectors can contact you, and a collection lawsuit gives you 30 days to respond.
What stops when you file
Section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code is an injunction that takes effect the moment a petition is filed. Nobody has to sign it and no judge has to approve it. From that minute, creditors can't call, write, sue, garnish, levy, repossess, foreclose or shut off your utilities to collect a debt that existed before the filing.
The calls stop within a few days, once the notices go out and the collectors' systems catch up. A collector who keeps calling after they know about the case is violating a federal court order, and the Central District's judges do award damages for it. Give us the number and the time of any call after filing. We keep a log.
What's covered, what isn't, and how long it lasts are laid out on the automatic stay: what stops the moment you file. The short version: it stops nearly everything a creditor can do to you, and it doesn't stop criminal cases, most support proceedings, or certain tax audits.
Before you file: what collectors can't do
Six calls before 8 a.m. Calls to your supervisor. A voicemail saying a process server is on the way when no lawsuit exists. Every one of those is illegal, and most collectors break at least one rule on every file.
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act covers third-party collectors. California's Rosenthal Act goes further and covers the original creditor too, so the bank that issued the card is bound by the same limits as the agency it hired. No calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Nothing to your workplace once they know the employer forbids it. No threats they can't carry out. And no contact at all once they know you have a lawyer.
That last one matters. Once you retain us and the collectors have our number, they're required to call us instead of you, even before the case is filed. Creditor harassment laws: the FDCPA and the Rosenthal Act covers the rules and what the remedies are worth.
If you've already been sued
A summons and complaint from Los Angeles Superior Court, or from the Stanley Mosk courthouse downtown, or from a branch in Van Nuys or Torrance, starts a 30-day clock from the day you're served. Respond and the case moves slowly for months. Ignore it and the creditor takes a default judgment, and a judgment is what turns a collection account into a wage garnishment.
If you're going to file bankruptcy, the lawsuit usually doesn't need an answer at all. The filing stays the case, and the discharge ends it. If you're not sure yet, or the 30 days will run before we can file, we talk about a short answer that protects the deadline. Sued by a debt collector in Los Angeles County walks through the options in order.
If they already have a judgment
A California judgment lasts ten years, renews for another ten, and accrues interest at 5% for consumer judgments under $200,000 entered from 2023 on, or 10% for older and larger ones. It's the creditor's ticket to garnish wages, levy bank accounts and record a lien against your house.
Most judgments are discharged in bankruptcy, because the underlying debt was a card or a loan or a medical bill. The judgment lien is a separate problem. Once recorded, it attaches to your home and survives the discharge unless we file a motion to avoid it, which we can do when the lien eats into your homestead exemption. That motion is quoted separately from the flat fee. Judgment debt and how bankruptcy handles it covers the discharge and the lien.
If the car is about to go
A repossession company in Los Angeles doesn't need a court order. If you're behind on the loan, they can take the car from your driveway at 3 a.m. or from the parking structure at work. Filing stops that. And if the car has already been taken but not yet sold, the Central District's rules generally require the lender to turn it over once the case is filed and insurance is shown.
Getting the car back is the easy part. Keeping it means catching up the arrears, which Chapter 13 does through the plan, or reaching an agreement with the lender in Chapter 7. Stopping a vehicle repossession explains both paths and how many days you realistically have.
What the stay doesn't stop, and when it's shorter
Criminal cases proceed. Child and spousal support collection proceeds, and support arrears aren't discharged in either chapter. Certain tax audits and assessments continue, though the collection of the tax is stayed. A landlord who already has a judgment for possession can, in some cases, keep going with the eviction.
The stay is also shorter for repeat filers. One case dismissed within the past year means the stay lasts 30 days unless the court extends it on our motion. Two dismissals in a year means no stay without a motion granted first. Those rules exist because of people who filed and dismissed every time a sale date came up, and the judges here know the pattern by heart. Tell us about every prior case.
Which chapter, and what it costs
For most people dealing with collectors, lawsuits and levies, the answer is a Chapter 7 that wipes out the debt in about four months for a flat $1,850 attorney fee. Where the debt is one that Chapter 7 won't discharge, or there's a house to save, a Chapter 13 plan stops the same collection and spreads the payments over three to five years. Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 is how we decide, and what bankruptcy costs in Los Angeles has every fee in writing.
Sometimes the honest answer is that you don't need to file. If your income is Social Security and you rent, a judgment can't reach much of anything, and we'll tell you so. Our Beverly Hills bankruptcy practice is one attorney, Naomi Reyes-Ashford, who has been telling people that, and filing about 2,400 cases for the ones who did need it, since 2006.
One thing I tell every new client the day they retain me: stop answering the phone, and give the collectors my number when they reach you. It's not a trick. Under California law, once a collector knows you have a lawyer they have to talk to me, and most of them do. The calls to my office are short. The calls to your kitchen at dinner end. That happens before the case is filed, which for a lot of people is the first quiet week they've had in a year.
Questions people ask about this
Do collection calls stop right away when I file bankruptcy?
Legally, the instant the petition is filed. In practice, within a few days, once the court's notice and ours reach the creditors and their systems update. Calls after that point violate a federal court order and can be sanctioned. Keep a log of any that come.
Can I stop the calls before I file?
Yes. Once you've retained us and a collector knows it, both the federal FDCPA and California's Rosenthal Act require them to contact us instead of you. The Rosenthal Act covers original creditors, not just agencies, so it applies to the bank that issued the card.
I was served with a lawsuit. Should I answer it or file bankruptcy?
You have 30 days after service. If bankruptcy is the plan and we can file within that window, the lawsuit usually doesn't need an answer. If the decision isn't made yet, or the deadline will pass first, a short response protects you from a default judgment while we sort it out.
What if a creditor keeps calling after I file?
Note the date, time, number and what was said, and send it to us. A creditor who knows about the case and keeps collecting is violating the stay, and the Central District's judges award damages and attorney fees for willful violations. It's rare after the first two weeks.
Does the automatic stay stop child support collection?
No. Support enforcement continues, support arrears aren't discharged in either chapter, and a wage assignment for support keeps running. Chapter 13 can pay support arrears through the plan, which stops the more aggressive enforcement tools while you catch up.
Will they take my car if I'm behind?
They can, without a court order, until you file. Filing stops the repossession, and if the car was already taken but not sold, the lender generally has to return it once the case is filed and you show insurance. Keeping it long-term means curing the arrears, usually through a Chapter 13 plan.
Talk it through with the attorney
If the phone is ringing or a summons has arrived, book a free thirty-minute consultation by video or phone. Naomi will tell you what stops on filing, what doesn't, and whether you need to file at all.