Author Archives: doug

Old debts might still result in bankruptcy court claims

By doug | Published: February 21, 2012

Just because a debt is as old as the hills doesn’t mean that a creditor can’t file a claim for it in bankruptcy court. How about a debt that everyone agrees is way past the statute of limitations? If the debtor is sued in a Massachusetts state court, she can use the statute of limitations […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News, Credit cards | Comments closed

If you owe back taxes, today could be the worst day to file a bankruptcy case

By doug | Published: February 20, 2012

Lets say you owe back income taxes for a number of years, and are interested in whether filing for bankruptcy will cure (or at least alleviate) the problem. Fair enough, but before you rush off to bankruptcy court, or even to a bankruptcy lawyer, slow down a minute! Income taxes are dischargeable only if a […]

Posted in Taxes | Comments closed

Tied down by liens? What the bankruptcy code can do about it

By doug | Published: February 16, 2012

Tied down by liens on your property? If your financial situation has deteriorated to the point where you would consider filing a bankruptcy case, take heart. In some cases, the liens can be eliminated as part of the case. But there are rules and limits to this. The first method of getting rid of liens […]

Posted in Practical tips, Secured loans | Comments closed

Friendly’s emerges from bankruptcy with a new strategy

By doug | Published: February 15, 2012

The Friendly’s Ice Cream bankruptcy case is over. The restaurant chain emerged from Chapter 11 protection in January, 2012, after filing the case in October, 2011. Over 100 restaurants were shuttered as part of the case, typically an indication of too-high lease payments. The chain also will be using the benefits of the bankruptcy to […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News | Comments closed

Gary Busey is the latest celebrity bankruptcy

By doug | Published: February 14, 2012

It’s largely been overshadowed by the news of Whitney Houston’s untimely death, but actor Gary Busey filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week The idea is not to unduly embarrass Busey, who joins a long parade of celebrity bankruptcies both recent and historical, but this filing is a bit of a cautionary tale. The actor’s […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News | Comments closed

Personal bankruptcy filings fall by 16% in Massachusetts

By doug | Published: February 13, 2012

The final tally for 2011 is in, and banking industry watchdog The Warren Group estimates that personal bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts dropped 16% compared to the previous year. That may make 2010 the high water mark for bankruptcy for all time. The drop was in line with the national figures, which also went down about […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News | Comments closed

File Chapter 7 bankruptcy and skip the means test!

By doug | Published: February 10, 2012

There is a simple way to avoid filling out the means test when you are filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. If a debtor has primarily business debts, there is no need to complete the means test! Or, to put it in more precise bankruptcy language, if a debtor has “primarily non-consumer debts,” just check […]

Posted in Chapter 7, Means Test, Practical tips | Comments closed

Form 1099-A, foreclosure, and bankruptcy cases

By doug | Published: February 9, 2012

Recently the IRS has been sending out a blizzard of forms 1099-A to homeowners who lost their house to a foreclosure or short sale in 2011. Since so many homes have been lost this way in the Merrimack Valley and southern New Hampshire recently, a lot of folks have been getting them. The 1099-A Form […]

Posted in Foreclosure, Practical tips, Taxes | Comments closed

Getting a tax refund? How it impacts a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case

By doug | Published: February 8, 2012

This is the season for tax refunds, and don’t think that the bankruptcy trustees don’t know it! Like sharks around a bucket of chum, there is little that can get a trustee into an excited frenzy like a debtor coming in to bankruptcy court with a sizable tax refund. But with a little knowledge and […]

Posted in Exemptions, Practical tips, Taxes | Comments closed

What’s IN your bankruptcy? Everything had better be IN your bankruptcy!

By doug | Published: February 6, 2012

This may be included in the realm of misguided terminology, but I often get comments from my bankruptcy clients that sound something like this: “I didn’t know my cars were IN the bankruptcy.” Or, “I thought we were keeping the house out of this bankruptcy.” These statements are grating on my ears (they would be […]

Posted in Exemptions, Practical tips, The Bankruptcy Code | Comments closed
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