Author Archives: doug

Don’t borrow too much from your 401(k) right before a bankruptcy

By doug | Published: September 6, 2011

Generally speaking, in my bankruptcy law practice here on the Massachusetts – New Hampshire line, I advise most people not to touch their 401 (k) and other retirement accounts before filing a bankruptcy case. After all, that money is 100% protected in a bankruptcy filing. If you take it out, you get hit with taxes, […]

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Autumn 2011 Chapter 7 Bankruptcy fee schedule

By doug | Published: August 31, 2011

As the founder of the Beaton Law Firm, I have always believed that it isn’t right to charge everyone full price for a bankruptcy case. Instead, at my firm, the attorney’s fee that you pay for me to handle the case is scaled to your income. To find out the fee for your case, you […]

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median income levels for clients thinking about bankruptcy in Massachusetts or New Hampshire

By doug | Published: August 31, 2011

State median income levels are calculated by the Internal Revenue Service, and are used in bankruptcy court to determine eligibility to file a Chapter 7 case. For residents of Massachusetts: The median income for a one person household is $55,602; The median income for a two person household is $67,443; The median income for a […]

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The games people play before they get to bankruptcy court

By doug | Published: August 30, 2011

Everyone knows that lawyers and regular people speak different languages. Lawyer, of course, speak legalese. And are very attuned to rules, regulations and legal implications. Most other people speak so they are understood, and and depend on traditional and practical rules to guide them through their lives. It turns out Kathy Cruz, a bankruptcy lawyer […]

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Falling bankruptcy rate may not be good news

By doug | Published: August 18, 2011

An 8 percent decline in bankruptcy filings this year might appear at first blush to be a positive sign for the economy, but further examination might put the optimism on hold. The number of bankruptcies may be down because people cannot afford to file and because there is little pressure from creditors to do so, […]

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Red Sox triple play takes Massachusetts bankruptcy lawyer back to his roots

By doug | Published: August 17, 2011

The Boston Red Sox turned a classic triple play at Fenway Park last night, when Tampa Rays slugger Sean Rodriguez hit a sharp grounder to Jed Lowrie, who tagged third, flipped the ball to Dustin Pedroia at second, then on to Alex Gonzales at first for the triple kill: http://soxanddawgs.com/redsox/video/red-sox-turn-triple-play-on-rays.html Shortly thereafter, it was announced […]

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Massachusetts solar firm files for bankruptcy

By doug | Published: August 16, 2011

The latest Massachusetts bankruptcy filing involves the once high-flying Evergreen Solar firm, which enetered Chapter 11 yesterday. Evergreen Solar makes silicon wafers for the interior of solar energy panels, and it president blamed cheaper competititve products being made in China for the company’s woes. The chart above shows Evergreen’s stock price falling for $6 to […]

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Bankruptcy will not result in denial of medical treatment

By doug | Published: August 15, 2011

When filing for bankruptcy, debtors are required to list all their debts, including medical debts. But filing bankruptcy on medical debt does not impact your ability to receive treatment in the future. Bankruptcy offers all debtors a fresh start, including debtors with medical debt. Medical debt is actually one of the biggest causes of bankruptcy […]

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For the true procrastinator: trying to get your foreclosed house back through bankruptcy court

By doug | Published: August 11, 2011

Some folks just love to wait until the last minute to get improtant things done. And then there are those folks who wait until after the last minute . . . In the world of bankruptcy law, it has long been thought that there is nothing that can be done to recover a house that […]

Posted in Foreclosure, Secured loans | Comments closed

Hidden means test deduction may help debtors with older cars and trucks

By doug | Published: August 10, 2011

There may be a silver lining for bankruptcy debtors who have a yard full of old cars or trucks that they own. Last January, the Supreme Court dealt bankruptcy debtors a tough blow — they ruled that they could not take a “vehicle ownership” deduction on the means test for cars and trucks they owned […]

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