Cara O'Neill

Cara O'Neill

Attorney · University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law

Cara O'Neill is a legal editor at Nolo, focusing on bankruptcy and small claims. She also maintains a bankruptcy practice at the Law Office of Cara O’Neill and teaches criminal law and legal ethics as an adjunct professor. Cara has been quoted in bankruptcy, finance, small claims, and litigation articles by news outlets that include USA Today, CNBC, U.S. News & World Report, Nerd Wallet, and Yahoo Finance.

Cara received her law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where she graduated a member of the Order of the Barristers—a highly-selective honor society that gives national recognition to top law school graduates demonstrating excellent skills in trial advocacy, oral advocacy, and brief writing.

Working at Nolo. Cara started writing for Nolo as a freelancer in 2014 and became a full-time legal editor in 2016. She has authored a number of Nolo self-help legal books, including How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, The New Bankruptcy, Everybody's Guide to Small Claims (national version), and Everybody's Guide to Small Claims in California. She also co-authors and edits Solve Your Money Troubles and Credit Repair and has written hundreds of articles for Nolo.com, Lawyers.com, TheBankruptcySite.org, and AllLaw.com.

Early legal career. Before joining Nolo, Cara spent 20 years working as a trial attorney litigating criminal and civil cases. She also served as an administrative law judge mediating disputes between auto manufacturers and dealerships and began teaching law as an adjunct professor in 2004. She added bankruptcy to her practice after the 2008 financial downturn.

Origins of litigation and writing career. Thanks to her mother, Cara’s advocacy training began early and involuntarily. In junior high school, she took second place two years running in the local Optimist Club speaking competition. She also successfully competed on her high school speech and debate team for several years, eventually serving as president of the same. During law school, she competed on a nationally ranked ABA moot court team for two years (and was recruited for a third, but declined) and served as a law journal editor.

Articles By Cara O'Neill

Keeping Two Cars in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
You can keep your property, including cars, in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 requires some debt repayment through a Chapter 13 plan, and the minimum plan amount will likely increase if you have a lot of nonexempt equity in two vehicles. Sometimes, the additional car equity will bump up your plan payment so much that you can’t realistically afford the payments. Learn when you can keep two cars in Chapter 13 bankruptcy and the steps you can take to make a high Chapter 13 payment more affordable.
Documents Needed For The Meeting of Creditors
When you go to the 341 meeting of creditors, you must bring certain documents to verify your identity. You'll also provide documents before the creditors meeting to prove the information in your bankruptcy petition and schedules. Read on to learn more about the documents you should bring to your 341 hearing, what you'll provide before, and the documents you might be asked to give the trustee afterward.
The Role of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee
When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the court assigns a bankruptcy trustee to your case. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee handles the case until it's closed, which usually takes about four months but could be as much as a year. During that time, the trustee evaluates your financial condition, sells property, investigates assets that could be liquidated for creditors, and more.
Exceptions to Bankruptcy's Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Requirements
Individuals who file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy must complete a credit counseling course before filing and a debtor education course after filing as a condition of receiving a debt discharge, the order that erases qualifying debt. Learn who is exempt from these bankruptcy requirements.
How Does a Sole Proprietorship File for Bankruptcy?
If you have your own business but haven't created a formal corporate or LLC structure, you have a sole proprietorship. Sole proprietorships get bankruptcy relief by filing an individual Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy that addresses personal and business debt and property in the same bankruptcy case. Learn why sole proprietors have more bankruptcy options than other businesses and what to expect in Chapters 7 and 13.
How Are Utility Bills Treated in Bankruptcy?
If you are behind in your utility payments and file for bankruptcy, you can discharge the outstanding bills in Chapter 7 bankruptcy and repay outstanding bills through your repayment plan in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Past-due utility bills incurred before filing are entirely erased in Chapter 7. You'll likely pay only a small portion in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
The Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Repayment Plan
You must be able to devise a repayment plan that you can afford for the repayment period (three to five years), and the court must approve the plan.
How Much Debt Do You Have to Have to File Bankruptcy?
You don’t need a minimum amount of debt to qualify for bankruptcy. But bankruptcy will impact your credit and deprive you of your ability to file again soon should you experience another financial crisis. So when deciding whether a bankruptcy filing will be worthwhile, consider other options, such as whether you can afford to pay back your debts or resolve your obligations with creditors outside of bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 Rules: No Means Test Required
Although the Chapter 7 means test doesn't apply in Chapter 13, you still must meet Chapter 13 qualification requirements. For instance, you must prove you earn enough to pay the required debts through the Chapter 13 plan. You must also meet Chapter 13 debt limits and more before the bankruptcy judge will confirm a Chapter 13 case.
Is Bankruptcy a Good Option for Struggling Small Businesses
Each bankruptcy chapter offers unique benefits that will differ depending on whether you or your company file for bankruptcy. Understanding these dynamics will help you choose the best solution for your small business needs.