If you hang around bankruptcy lawyers long enough, it won’t be long before you hear talk about “what’s on the I and J.” This sort of inside baseball talk refers to Schedule I and Schedule J, on which debtors are required to list all their sources of income (on I), and all their household expenses […]
Author Archives: doug
Fee trap for Massachusetts bankruptcy lawyers
Here’s a heads-up for Massachusetts bankruptcy lawyers: Judge Joan Feeney in Boston has been taking a hard line on enforcement of the court’s 2013 standing order on attorney fees and representation. The standing order requires attorneys who have filed an appearance in a bankruptcy case to represent their clients in motions, contested matters, and adversary […]
Posted in Bankruptcy News, Fees
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Two cars in one name can be trouble in bankruptcy
There are lots of married couples out there struggling to make ends meet, with both spouses working and both needing to drive a car or truck to get to their job. While the husband may habitually drive “his” car, and the wife “hers,” very often both vehicles (and sometimes more) will be listed in one […]
Posted in Exemptions
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Green Tree Servicing not easy to deal with
Just came across a fantastic quote concerning Green Tree Servicing from Massachusetts based short sale broker Maryann Little, who commented “Greentree is NOT the easiest servicer to work with. They are SLOW…..” when she was discussing a listing in Lowell. I would add that my clients have had problems with this firm as well in […]
Posted in Secured loans
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Massachusetts redraws the bankruptcy court map
The United States Bankruptcy Court announced that as of May 1, 2014 residents of seven Boston suburbs will henceforth file their cases at the courthouse in Worcester. The affected municipalities are ASHLAND, FRAMINGHAM, HOLLISTON, BELLINGHAM, FRANKLIN, and MEDWAY. The most significant is Framingham, a city of 68,000 twenty miles west of Boston, and the same […]
Posted in Bankruptcy News
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Strict rule on bankruptcy credit counseling
A debtor in New Hampshire had his case thrown out of court for not taking a credit counseling course — even though he had completed the course twice! The seemingly baffling result is due to the exacting requirement of bankruptcy code section 109 (h), which demands that the counseling be taking within 180 days immediately […]
Posted in Uncategorized
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Bankruptcy fees set to rise in June
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: […]
Posted in Bankruptcy News
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Open season for shooting down old tax debts
With April 15th of 2014 in the rear view mirror, it is now open season on discharging 2010 income tax debts (both state and federal) in bankruptcy court. Income taxes may not be usually dischargeable in bankruptcy, but the rules change once the debts get old. Debtors who filed a return on time, but who […]
Posted in Taxes
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Counting time backwards in bankruptcy court
If you have had wages garnished by a creditor, you certainly might be interested in ways to get some of all of that money back so you can spend it. Filing a bankruptcy case may do the trick, due to a technical portion of the Bankruptcy Code that deals with “preferences.” That, in turn, is […]
Posted in Practical tips
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Trying to eliminate divorce lawyer’s fee in bankruptcy
Debtors who have outstanding bills for legal fees at the time they file a bankruptcy case should include those bills on their bankruptcy schedules and seek to discharge them. Almost always this works out fine. Your own bills for legal work already performed are usually considered perfectly dischargable. A typical scenario involves a debtor who […]
Posted in The Bankruptcy Code
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