Boston Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

Bankruptcies were up 14% in February across the United States verses February 2009, and 9% above January 2009, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center data. The federal government statistics, which were released on March 2, 2010 for 2009, indicated 1,473,675 bankruptcy filings in 2009, a 31.9% rise in filings for 2009 over the previous year. Chapter 7 personal bankruptcies were up 41% (from 744,364 in 2008 to 1,050,832 in 2009) We will continue to inform our clients of the trends in the federal bankruptcy courts, and especially in the Massachusetts district.

Those of us here in Boston and throughout Massachusetts went to bed last night with the sting of defeat from watching the Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Finals. Thus, it seemed like a good time to review our sister country to the north's personal bankruptcy situation.

According to Canadian statistics, like the US, 2009 was a record year for personal bankruptcy filings. The issue, like Massachusetts and the US, is debt: in Canada the level of "household credit per person" is up from just over $20,000 in 2001 to over $40,000 in 2009! At the end of the third quarter of 2009, an average Canadian had household debt of 140.8% of their personal disposable income!

Continue reading "US v. Canada - Ice Hockey, Bankruptcy, Massachusetts Winter Notes" »

Our personal bankruptcy clients often point out that they are being "harassed" by the collection agencies and lawyers, in Boston and throughout Massachusetts. One Boston area law firm uses the brother of the attorney as their attack dog - he implies he is the lawyer and his words are vicious.

Thus, it is important for consumers to know their rights. The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects consumers from abuse by collection agencies and collection lawyers. Note, the federal law does not apply to the actual creditor, only to "third parties" such as the collection agencies and collection attorneys. The Massachusetts law, Chapter 93A, Section 49, Debt Collection in an Unfair, Deceptive or Unreasonable Manner gives Massachusetts consumers additional protections.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Consumers Need to Know Fair Debt Collection Laws" »

Some of our clients have significant gambling debt when they come to us for advice regarding discharging debt in Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court in Boston.

Some research showed that approximately 10% of all personal bankruptcy filings are linked to gambling debt; and that 20% of "compulsive" gamblers ultimately file for bankruptcy protection.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Bankruptcy and Discharge in Boston Bankruptcy Court" »

Clients and potential clients in Massachusetts sometimes ask us if filing for a Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy will have any adverse effect on their current or future student loans. The answer is fairly clear: no. In 1978, Congress passed a law which prevented various types of discrimination against folks who filed for bankruptcy protection. With respect to denying student loans, the law states that a governmental unit "may not deny a student grant, loan, loan guarantee, or loan insurance to a person that is or has been a debtor under this title or a bankrupt or debtor under the Bankruptcy Act."

Continue reading "Can Universities in Boston or Massachusetts Discriminate Against Bankruptcy Filers?" »

According to initial numbers posted by the National Bankruptcy Research Center, there were over 1,410,000 personal bankruptcies filed in 2009. The total is up 32% from 2008. We have found that the number of clients qualifying for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy, in which you discharge all of your unsecured and non priority debt has increased as well. The number of personal bankruptcies are the highest since the new, stricter, bankruptcy law went into effect in October, 2005.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy Numbers Up in Boston and Across Massachusetts" »

Clients and potential clients in Massachusetts sometimes ask us if filing for a Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy will have any adverse effect on their employment status. The answer is fairly clear: no.

In 1978, Congress passed a law which prevented various types of discrimination against folks who filed for bankruptcy protection. With respect to denying employment, that law states that an employer cannot "deny employment to, terminate the employment of, or discriminate with respect to employment against" anyone simply because he or she has filed for personal bankruptcy.

Continue reading "Can Massachusetts Employers Fire You for Filing for Bankruptcy?" »

While end of year statistics are not yet in, the good news for our Massachusetts clients is that the number of foreclosures is trending down. There were 27.3% fewer foreclosures through October 2009 (7,707) than the same period a year earlier (10,603). The auction numbers were down 9.8% for that time period. Statistics just out from Banker and Tradesman shows that November foreclosures are down as well.

Another good statistic is that the number of actual foreclosure deeds, which represents foreclosures that conclude (the property is not reclaimed by the owner) is also down significantly: 26.8% for the first 11 months of 2009.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Foreclosures Trending Down" »

While it still feels like Massachusetts consumers are filing bankruptcies at record rates, the statistics may be encouraging right now.

Consumers filed 112,152 personal bankruptcies in November, 2009. This was a decrease of 18% from the October 2009 numbers. Nevertheless, the numbers are up 12% from the previous year. These figures are from the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Continue reading "Surprising Drop in Consumer Bankruptcies November 2009" »

Boston attorney Thiadora Pina appeared in Suffolk Superior Court on behalf of the owner of Brigham's Ice Cream stores on November 18, 2009. We represented the owner, Luke Cooper, individually, as a vendor filing suit against Brigham's Ice Cream's holding companies, including Deal Metrics, LLC.

The vendor alleged that Brigham's Ice Cream owed them a considerable amount of money. In their suit to collect that money directly from the bank holding Brigham's Ice Cream's funds, the vendor sought to also collect money directly from Luke Cooper. Attorney Pina argued on behalf of Mr. Cooper in an effort to deny the vendor the right to attach his personal bank accounts. She successfully presented her argument to the Suffolk Superior Court and the vendor's Motion was denied as to Luke Cooper, individually.

Clients often ask us if their personal bankruptcy will be successful. Of course, we can't guarantee results. However, one thing we can guarantee is that any misstatements on the Petition or Schedules will result in increased scrutiny and likely no discharge.

In a recent case in Louisiana, a married couple were charged criminally for giving a false statement in bankruptcy proceedings and fraud; they "knowingly and fraudulently devised and intending to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud and for the purpose of executing and concealing such a scheme and artifice." Essentially, they failed to list properties they owned or had a legal interest in. Initially, the proceedings were in the bankruptcy court. Eventually, the proceedings landed in federal criminal court because they failed to disclose the sale of a business and the sale of a home and made such false statements on their bankruptcy petition, under the pains and penalties of perjury.

What happens to the Louisiana couple is of less importance to us than the fact that we must rigorously maintain the integrity of our clients' bankruptcy petitions. This is the reason we insist on meeting with all clients personally for a full intake interview, and the reason we ask for so many documents before filing the bankruptcy.

There were 11,872 Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts so far this year. According to new data the number of personal bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts is up 35% percent from January 1 through September 30, 2009. This is compared to the same nine month period in 2008, according to a new report on Massachusetts bankruptcies by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

On the other hand, Chapter 13, reorganization bankruptcy filings were down 23% during the same time period.

The Warren Group also has a website which allows you to search for bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts.

We recommend that folks in Massachusetts meet with us BEFORE making decisions regarding assets whenever personal bankruptcy is a possibility; even if it is only a remote possibility. This is because with decades of experience in personal bankruptcy we see a theme with respect to mistakes our clients have made.

First, be very careful before transferring real estate. Selling your house is one thing. Transferring ownership to your spouse or child may be a good idea for many reasons. However, it also may be considered a fraudulent conveyance in a number of instances. The federal bankruptcy Trustee that reviews your Personal Bankruptcy Petition and Schedules always asks about real estate transfers. The Registry of Deeds records are public and your testimony is under oath. It is one of the easiest frauds to catch. And, it's almost always unnecessary: your can exempt your home under both federal and state laws in personal bankruptcy.

Continue reading "Seven Personal Bankruptcy Tips BEFORE Bankruptcy in Boston" »

Many of our personal bankruptcy clients have tried to consolidate their debt by hiring debt management companies. This generally does not work for a variety of reasons, one major reason being that those companies are often owned by the credit card companies! Whose interests are they going to serve? Not yours!

The usual strategy of those companies is to get you to sign an agreement. Then they collect money from you monthly. They send a letter to all your creditors. They try to negotiate with the creditors to obtain two things: first, they negotiate the fee that they will receive from the money you pay, and second, they ask for you to be able to make reduced payments. There is no guarantee that this will work for most creditors, and it rarely works for all creditors. Even if it does work for some creditors, it doesn't do anything you could not have done yourself; at anytime, you can try to negotiate a reduced payment by speaking with the creditor yourself. By hiring another company to consolidate your debt, now you are also paying a percentage to them! The companies sometimes collect money from you monthly without even paying the creditors (we hear this one all the time from clients); then, when you "default" they will try to negotiate the debt. This works sometimes, but not other times. Your credit suffers, and you have no control over which strategy they are undertaking and how they are doing it.

Continue reading "Boston Bankruptcy Clients Question Debt Agencies" »

There are two ways to exempt assets you want to keep in Massachusetts Bankruptcies. You can use the Massachusetts General Laws, which we largely use when our clients have a home with equity. See article posted x date

The federal exemptions, however, are better for most other categories. What are the federal exemptions and how do we use them?

Continue reading "Massachusetts Bankruptcy Exemptions" »