Dairy farmers in Upstate New York are facing a crisis.  While the cost of milk at the grocery store continues to climb, the price dairy farmers receive has not.  Farmers are currently receiving $13.33 per hundredweight.  This is $4.25 below the cost of production in New York, even in the most efficient dairy farms.  Even the safety [...]

As my friend and colleague, Cathy Moran explained in her blog over a year ago, the benefits of filing a bankruptcy mean that the debtor provides information to the bankruptcy court in the papers filed with the court.
This benefits the debtor more than the Court–this honesty.  For full disclosure, the debtor is able to rid [...]

It often happens that a creditor gets a judgment against you before your bankruptcy case is filed.  That judgment is erased by the filing, unless it’s a type of debt that isn’t discharged anyway (fraud, theft, intentional injury, and the like).
This doesn’t automatically mean that you need to file a bankruptcy case.  You may be [...]

Why is it that consumers and small business owners see bankruptcy as a mark of shame to be avoided at all costs when bankruptcy is touted as a new beginning and a positive step for corporate America?  Is there really anything different about “bankruptcy” when the debtor is General Motors than when it is Joe [...]

Banks and credit unions love to have automatic payroll deductions from their customers.  It helps them guarantee as long as you work, you pay them.  What happens when you file bankruptcy?
The bank or credit union should think twice about continuing to “accept” these payroll deductions.  That’s the lesson from a recent Eighth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate [...]

In this era of corporate bailouts, it makes you wonder how many individual bailouts are happening, and, more importantly, is it the right thing to do?  Three times in the past week, a client has called to request that we close the file because they no longer have to file for bankruptcy.  While I love [...]

Suicide can be a tragic byproduct of the current financial and mortgage foreclosure crisis.  We have all heard of people jumping out of buildings in last century’s Great Depression.  But how many actual suicides or attempts at suicide have occurred because of today’s situation? 
At the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys annual convention in Chicago, [...]

When you file your bankruptcy case, whether it is a Chapter 7, Chapter 13, or Chapter 11, you will have to put together a lot of financial information, and make it available to your attorney.  The more complicated your financial situation, the more information you will need to provide, but almost everyone finds that it [...]

Since July 1, 2007, Connecticut has recognized a $3,500.00 exemption in automobiles. Many websites out there (including some maintained by Connecticut lawyers) miss the fact that the exemption amount increased from $1,500.00 to $3,500.00 mearly two years ago.
An exemption in an automobile (or truck) is calculated by taking the market value of the vehicle and [...]

Chapter 11 for large corporations has been much in the news lately, but Chapter 11 can be a valuable tool for individuals and small businesses, too.  For most individuals and small businesses, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are the first options considered, but Chapter 11 relief is not limited to large companies, or even to [...]