Martha Warriner Jarrett

I am a magna cum laude graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. I have practiced bankruptcy law for over 40 years, working for some of the biggest and best bankruptcy firms in Southern California. I retired a few years ago and moved to Colorado but California is home so I moved back here and I'm living in Santa Barbara. I've started a website (bankruptcysage.com) to offer advice and counsel to people considering bankruptcy. I don't want to work full time but I do want to use my skills to help people who are trying to figure out this crazy thing called bankruptcy. I'll answer your questions (mostly on my blog) and help you fill out your paperwork.

• Free Consultation
  I offer a free half-hour phone consultation. At the end of the consultation, if you want to retain me to perform additional work, we'll discuss fees.
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  As a bankruptcy attorney, I can't take credit cards but I do accept debit cards and payments over direct methods such as Zelle and Venmo

California

State Bar of California

ID Number: 76132

Since 1977

9th Circuit

Since 1978

Owner

Martha Warriner Jarrett Consulting

2022 - Current

Consulting services including bankruptcy consultation, legal research and writing, blog posts, paralegal services

Owner

Blackboard Copy

2016 - 2018

Copywriting for B2B, law firms, websites and blog posts

Sole Practitioner

2012 - 2014

Represented chapter 7, chapter 11 debtors, creditors (adversary proceedings), and business litigation

Contract partner

Reid & Hellyer

2002 - 2012

Represented chapter 7 and chapter 11 debtors, trustees and creditors committees

Contract attorney

The Summit Law Corp.

1999 - 2002

Contract attorney representing chapter 11 debtors and business clients

Contract attorney

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

1996 - 1999

Contract attorney representing chapter 11 debtors and creditors, business acquisition, and business litigation

Sole Practioner

1996 - 1997

Represented individual and business chapter 7 and chapter 11 debtors.

Contract partner

Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP

1993 - 1996

Represented chapter 11 debtors, creditors and creditors' committees

Associate

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

1992 - 1993

Worked on various chapter 11 cases including a multi-national real estate case and local oil company.

Associate

Gendel, Raskoff, Shapiro & Quittner

1988 - 1992

Part of the team that represented Apex Oil Co., one of the largest privately owned company to file chapter 11. Drafted plan and disclosure statement, negotiated with unsecured creditors committee, and handled numerous adversary proceeding, real estate sales, etc.

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

J.D. (1977) | Business Law

1974 - 1977

Honors: Magna Cum Laude

State Bar of California  # 76132

Member

Current

Q. How to start filing for bankruptcy after financial changes from husband's passing in Texas.

February 15, 2025

A: Start by talking to a bankruptcy attorney in your area. Most offer free consultations. There is also a lot of information on the Bankruptcy Court's website: uscourts.gov. Your local bankruptcy court may have a free clinic to help you get started. You can also contact your local bar association, or Legal Aid, for a referral. Justia.com also has a directory of local attorneys. There are exemptions available to help protect your assets, but these are hard to figure out without assistance from an attorney. Good luck.

Q. After I filed chapter 13 to stop my pending foreclosure sale the lender postponed the sale. Shouldn't it be cancelled?

February 4, 2025

A: Typically, lenders postpone sales, often repeatedly, while someone in in bankruptcy. That way, if the case is dismissed, or if the Court grants them relief from stay to proceed with the foreclosure, they don't have to start the process over again. The best way to prevent the lender from taking any further actions is to make all your plan payments on time.

Q. Converted from 13 to 7 with same attorney. Had an exempt PI case happen and had her hold it in her trust.

January 31, 2025

A: It's hard to tell from the info you provided, but you are on the right track to demand an accounting of the settlement funds in her trust account, as well as an invoice for the services she is billing you for. Do you have a written retainer agreement with her? That should also help determine if she is owed anything. As a last resort, iif none of that works and she doesn't provide you with an accounting and an invoice, you can report her to both your chapter 7 trustee and your state bar (after advising her that you will do so if she doesn't respond to your requests).

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