Author Archives: doug

How to file for bankruptcy — choosing a bankruptcy lawyer

By doug | Published: April 15, 2010

Typically, after consumers with debt problems gather all their bills together (or sometimes before), they will set out to contact a bankruptcy lawyer to help them with the process. Choosing the right lawyer to handle your bankruptcy case is an important decision, but it shouldn’t be an all-consuming or paralyzing one. There are many good […]

Posted in Practical tips | Comments closed

Massachusetts to move money in dispute over credit card interest rates

By doug | Published: April 14, 2010

The Massachusetts state government will soon start moving its money out of accounts it has on deposit in Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo because those giant banks have refused to cap their interest rates at 18 percent. Many more people in Massachusetts have been forced to consider bankruptcy recently, because many banks have […]

Posted in Chapter 7, Credit cards | Comments closed

Bank bosses refuse to consider modifying mortgages

By doug | Published: April 14, 2010

Just in case you were wondering why there has been a rash of bankruptcy filings in the Merrimack Valley and elsewhere, look no further than the stubborn refusals of the major banks to modify underwater mortgage loans. Just yesterday, the chiefs of Citi, Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America testified before Congress, and told […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News, Real estate | Comments closed

Home equity loans are a ticking time bomb in the banking sector

By doug | Published: April 13, 2010

Thinking about filing for bankruptcy? If so, you might want to ponder who has it worse off in our current economy — the debtors or the creditors? Ridiculous question, you say? Perhaps, but in law it is always worthwhile to examine cases and situations from your adversary’s point of view. When debtors get pestered with […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News, Foreclosure, Real estate | Comments closed

Bankruptcy exemptions at work — Tools

By doug | Published: April 9, 2010

“It takes money to make money,” goes the old saying. For many people, making a living requires specialized equipment as well. Can’t imagine a dentist without a drill! Fortunately laws have recognized for decades that debtors should not be stripped of the very tools they need to make the money needed to survive. As a […]

Posted in Exemptions | Comments closed

Getting a tax refund? Great — just don’t put it on a pre-paid credit card!

By doug | Published: April 8, 2010

I confess to being old enough to remember when getting your income tax refund meant being mailed a green check about two months after you filed — so sometime in June — and then walking down to the neighborhood bar, I mean bank, to turn it into cash. Now tax preparers seem to spend more […]

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Massachusetts may be able to keep the unemployment checks coming

By doug | Published: April 8, 2010

Thousands of laid-off Massachusetts workers may be able to keep their unemployment benefits after all, averting — at least for a month — a new wave of bankruptcy filings. Although the federal benefits were set to expire this week, a Massachusetts state law has been invoked that will keep the checks flowing until May 2nd. […]

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Bank of America promises speedy mortgage response — can they do it?

By doug | Published: April 7, 2010

For thousands of years, the banking business has been built on the idea of people keeping promises. Will Bank of America be able to keep the one they made yesterday? Bank of America announced a pledge to answer consumer queries about their mortgages wihin three days. According to Bloomberg News, the pledge is in response […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News, Foreclosure | Comments closed

Thousands of Massachusetts residents lose jobless benefits

By doug | Published: April 6, 2010

Thousands of Massachusetts residents lost their jobless benefits yesterday. If the federal benefits are not restored, these people may not get a check this week. Eventually, many may seek bankruptcy protection if they are unable to pay for bills and necessaries. The Boston Globe said that “one in 10 workers in Massachusetts was unemployed in […]

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Is there any way around filling out this damn means test form?

By doug | Published: April 5, 2010

One of the biggest wrinkles — perhaps THE biggest —  in the Bankruptcy Code changed that were passed in 2005 was the introduction of a “means test” to see if debtors qualify for eliminating their debts in a case filed Chapter 7 of the code. A simplified explanation of the way the test works is […]

Posted in Chapter 7 | Comments closed
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