Consumers frequently ask if they have to have a certain level of debt to qualify for bankruptcy or if they have to be without assets to file.  The answer to both questions is NO.  Generally, all it takes to qualify to file some form of bankruptcy is a willingness to submit your non exempt assets [...]

Only certain people such as creditors (when you apply for credit of some kind); employers (but only under certain circumstances and you must give authorization); and government agencies (including Child Support Enforcement). No one else will look at your credit report unless you give them permission to do so.
In most locations, the public is [...]

A credit report is a record of how you have borrowed and repaid debts. Creditors usually like to look at this report to decide whether or not to grant you credit.
What kind of information can be included in my credit report?
Most common are identification and employment data, payment history on your accounts, a [...]

In ” The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers & Fathers Are Going Broke” authors Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi report the following alarming statistics:$$ In the past 25 years, the number of families in bankruptcy has increased 400 percent, and housing foreclosures are up 350 percent.$$ The average middle-class family can no longer [...]

We’re pretty lucky in Massachusetts. We have a $500,000 homestead and it applies to home equity, not overall value. Equity is value minus mortgages. Not bad. (It’s not doubled if married, however.)
You must have a valid Declaration of Homestead recorded with the Registry of Deeds. It costs $35.00, and the property description or deed reference [...]

The Court assigns a date for a meeting of creditors after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition is filed. This date is usually about 30 days after the case if filed. Creditors then have 60 days from this date — the first date set for the
meeting of creditors — to object to the discharge [...]

I often times hear the comment if I could afford your fees I would not be in the financial mess that I am in. On average attorney’s fees to file a Chapter 7 will be in the neighborhood of $2,000. Attorney’s fees vary by area and most certainly by attorney. Sometimes the [...]

If you are reading this blog or other web sites to learn more about bankruptcy, you have no doubt seen a large number of references to the “new” bankruptcy law – called BAPCPA – that went into effect in October, 2005.  This new law, which is now almost a year and a half old, has [...]

In one of the more disturbing developments to come out of the 2005 Bankruptcy amendments, people all across the country are telling their lawyers that creditors and bill collectors are making some outlandish assertions about the effect of those amendments. Among the reported “whoppers”:

Congress eliminated bankruptcy for people;
The bankruptcy laws were completely repealed;
Anyone who owns [...]

They seem so convenient.
Need a latte – nonfat, cinnamon sprinkles – but short on cash? Just whip out that debit card and be on your way. But there’s a cost for that convenience, and that cost might be way too high to pay for many.
Debit card usage is the culprit behind rising overdraft charges at [...]