You may have purchased something from a company now in bankruptcy, and you have to make a warranty claim.
If the company is in Chapter 11, it will very likely honor your claim for the good will it generates (you’ll tell your friends that it’s okay to do business with the company) even though the company [...]

If your Chapter 13 payments are set by the Means Test and not only by mortgage and priority tax arrears, then a Family Medical Leave can reduce your payments.
The Means Test looks at your average monthly income for the six month period ending with the month before your filing.  If you have not yet filed [...]

What happens when you cannot make your Chapter 13 payments due to unexpected bills?  A furnace goes, or a car breaks down, or you get sick or hurt.  What then?
There are a number of options.  None of them are “Keep this secret from your lawyer!”
You can ask for a suspension, or moratorium of payments and [...]

Creditors can argue that your case should be dismissed for abuse, a term not defined in the Bankruptcy Code;  It generally means that you’ve been a bad boy.  There’s a presumption of abuse when you flunk the Means Test and show that you have means to pay some of your debt.  Abuse might also exist [...]

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 [...]

A simple enough situation.  After a bankruptcy case was filed, a large telephone and Internet ervice provider sent bills from its special bankruptcy administration office for a pre-bankruptcy debt.  I filed a motion for sanctions.  The provider then sent a notice of termination of services.  I called it to confirm receipt of the motion and [...]

Two spouses file one bankruptcy case.  They get one trustee, one case number, one meeting of creditors, etc.  But they are still two separate people with two separate bankruptcy estates.
Here’s why it’s important.  If someone dies within six months after a bankruptcy is filed, the inheritance is property of the bankruptcy estate.  However, that inheritance [...]

A Massachusetts Chapter 13 debtor has been able to remove (”cancel” or “rescind”) a second or refinancing mortgage, without having to pay the full principal balance, if there was a serious defect in the closing papers.  See Cancel That Mortgage:  Why Bankruptcy and Remove That Mortgage !!
A recent intermediary appellate decision just changed that ruling.  [...]

People are often worried about whether they can keep their car in bankruptcy. This makes sense because in places without pervasive public transportation people need cars to get to work, take their kids to school, etc. There are a few key points about cars to remember.
1. In a Chapter 13 case you never [...]

Here in Massachusetts, most people can keep their entire tax refund in bankruptcy. It is important to note that one never loses property in a Chapter 13 case. This is the case because Chapter 13 is a reorganization chapter while Chapter 7 is the chapter that requires the liquidation of non-exempt property.
In a [...]