Category Archives: Bankruptcy News

Bankruptcy fees set to rise in June

By doug | Published: April 21, 2014

It’s not the best news for people thinking of going bankrupt, but starting on June 1, 2014, the fees required to file a case are going up by $29 across the board. Here are the new amounts: Chapter 7 bankruptcy: $335 (up from $ 306); Chapter 13 bankruptcy: $310 (up from $281); Chapter 12 bankruptcy: […]

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When Dad dies broke: too many elderly are suffering with debt

By doug | Published: February 17, 2014

An excellent article by Rob Azevedo just appeared in the Boston Globe’s North section where the author describes how his father struggled with debt into his senior years. Azevedo really hits the nail on the head: “But today, millions of seniors are drowning in debt, trying to heat their homes, pay for medications, eat some […]

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Are casino liens really hardball?

By doug | Published: February 11, 2014

Two front page articles in the Boston Globe in three days has put in the news this fact: Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, the two massive Connecticut casinos which are now seeking the first gaming licenses ever issued in Massachusetts, have sometimes gotten liens on gambler’s Massachusetts homes for unpaid advances. First, the Sunday Globe “exposed” […]

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Chemical spills, student loans, and bankruptcy

By doug | Published: January 21, 2014

There has been a wave of ill feeling spreading across social media in the wake of Freedom Industries’ chemical contamination of much of the drinking water in West Virginia recently, and there has been criticism of the firm’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing too, with the general idea that it is some obscure legal ploy […]

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Big tax bills for short sellers? Bankruptcy could come to the rescue

By doug | Published: January 16, 2014

It’s the middle of January 2014, and there still has been no movement by Congress in Washington to re-enact the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Act, which expired at the end of 2013. That’s bad news for people looking to get out of real estate by a short sale (and for people being forced out of it […]

Also posted in Real estate, Secured loans, Taxes | Comments closed

The new bankruptcy forms are here!

By doug | Published: November 29, 2013

Its hard to get as excited as Steve Martin did about phone books in The Jerk, but as of December 1st, 2013, several new bankruptcy forms will go into use. By far the most important for most consumer cases are the the new Schedule I, on which debtors report their income, and the new Schedule […]

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Longtime Massachusetts bankruptcy lawyer Joseph Braunstein has died

By doug | Published: November 6, 2013

According to an article by Michele Richinick in the Boston Globe, Joseph Braunstein, who was a bankruptcy attorney in Massachusetts for 55 years has died. Attorney Braunstein died in Florida in September, 2013 of a heart attack. He was 84 years old. In recent years, he was best known as a bankruptcy trustee handling cases […]

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Will Obama care affect bankruptcy filings?

By doug | Published: October 9, 2013

Now that October 2013 has rolled around, the start-up of Obamacare, or more formally the ACA, is imminent. Or is it? As of this writing, the federal government is in shut-down mode, as budgets have not been passed, and threats to stalemate the health care changes are thick as thieves. New Orleans bankruptcy attorney Kevin […]

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Mass. debtors may be able to keep more after bankruptcy

By doug | Published: October 3, 2013

Massachusetts bankruptcy debtors who need to use the state-specific Massachusetts list of exempt property got some good news recently from Judge Hoffman, whose ruling in the Sutherland case may have effectively doubled the wild card exemption under state law. The Sutherland case was reviewed here previously, where another aspect of the case looked at the […]

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Is a motorcycle an automobile in Massachusetts?

By doug | Published: September 24, 2013

Practicing bankruptcy law in Massachusetts means you are always learning new things. A question that cropped up recently: Does a Harley – Davidson motorcycle count as a debtor’s automobile? And a little more broadly — is a motorcycle a vehicle? These questions were one of the subjects in the Sutherland case, decided on July 16, […]

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