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

Bankruptcy Fraud Consequences and Penalties
If you commit a bankruptcy crime, you can suffer consequences that will last for the rest of your life. But because “the punishment must fit the crime,” some bankruptcy fraud penalties are more severe than others. Learn about the risks of bankruptcy fraud.
How to Prove Bankruptcy Fraud
Whether you're facing a bankruptcy fraud charge or a creditor who has been defrauded in bankruptcy, understanding how to prove bankruptcy fraud will help you determine the case's potential outcome. Also, learn how to report bankruptcy fraud in Chapter 7 and defenses commonly raised in bankruptcy fraud cases. You'll learn that proving fraud often requires the prosecutor to dig deeper than the debtor's schedules and testimony.
A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Overview
Chapter 7 bankruptcy eliminates debts without requiring filers to repay creditors. It's the quickest bankruptcy chapter, usually taking four months to complete. Chapter 7 is also the cheapest bankruptcy chapter to file, making it the preferred choice of bankruptcy filers. Learn how Chapter 7 bankruptcy works, how to qualify by passing the Chapter 7 means test, and what will disqualify you from filing Chapter 7. You’ll also learn about the debts eliminated in bankruptcy, Chapter 7 exemptions that will protect your property, and the steps in a Chapter 7 case.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy for Small Businesses: An Overview
If you're a small business owner struggling with debt, you might wonder if a business bankruptcy in Chapter 13 would help you reorganize your debts and save your business. If you're a sole proprietor saddled with debt and struggling to keep your small business open, Chapter 13 bankruptcy might help you keep business assets, pay important creditors, and reduce the amount owed on debt.
Who Can Garnish My Wages?
If you owe alimony, child support, back taxes, student loans, or have judgments against you for other obligations, your creditors can garnish (take) your wages to collect those debts.
Filing for Bankruptcy in West Virginia
In this complete guide to filing for bankruptcy in West Virginia, you’ll learn about the differences between Chapters 7 and 13, debts you can eliminate or "discharge, property you can keep using West Virginia bankruptcy exemption laws, and bankruptcy qualification requirements. You'll also learn how to organize and navigate your West Virginia bankruptcy case using checklists, a link to a DIY bankruptcy quiz, and other helpful resources.
Filing for Bankruptcy in Washington State
In this complete guide to filing for bankruptcy in Washington, you’ll learn about the differences between Chapters 7 and 13, debts you can eliminate or "discharge,” property you can keep using Washington bankruptcy exemption laws, and bankruptcy qualification requirements. You'll also learn how to organize and navigate your Washington bankruptcy case using checklists, a link to a DIY bankruptcy quiz, and other helpful resources.
Filing for Bankruptcy in Vermont
In this complete guide to filing for bankruptcy in Vermont, you’ll learn about the differences between Chapters 7 and 13, debts you can eliminate or "discharge,” property you can keep using Vermont bankruptcy exemption laws, and bankruptcy qualification requirements. You'll also learn how to organize and navigate your Vermont bankruptcy case using checklists, a link to a DIY bankruptcy quiz, and other helpful resources.
Filing for Bankruptcy in Utah
In this complete guide to filing for bankruptcy in Utah, you’ll learn about the differences between Chapters 7 and 13, debts you can eliminate or "discharge,” property you can keep using Utah bankruptcy exemption laws, and bankruptcy qualification requirements. You'll also learn how to organize and navigate your Utah bankruptcy case using checklists, a link to a DIY bankruptcy quiz, and other helpful resources.
Filing For Bankruptcy in Texas
In this complete guide to filing for bankruptcy in Texas, you’ll learn about the differences between Chapters 7 and 13, debts you can eliminate or "discharge,” property you can keep using Texas bankruptcy exemption laws, and bankruptcy qualification requirements. You'll also learn how to organize and navigate your Texas bankruptcy case using checklists, a link to a DIY bankruptcy quiz, and other helpful resources.