Judge Boroff of the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court has held that an owner of a remainder interest in a home could not claim a homestead exemption. The case is on re Gordon, Case No. 11-44524 (Bankr.D.Mass August 28, 2012). In Gordon,…
Bankruptcy Exemptions, Homestead Exemption
Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court Rules on Homestead Proceeds Exemption
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Judge Hillman of the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court days ago issued an opinion holding that a debtor could not extend his homestead to the surplus proceeds of a foreclosure sale. The court read the language of the statute quite literally: If…
Bankruptcy and Credit
Who Will Know I Filed Bankruptcy?
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A lot of people are nervous, frightened, terrified–you pick the word–about who will find out that they filed bankruptcy? We get asked this quite often, and here’s the answer: Bankruptcy is a court proceeding and, therefore, creates a public record.…
Chapter 13, Chapter 7
Bankruptcy: The Great Financial Mercy
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This is going to be a philosophical post about bankruptcy. If you’re looking for answers about anything substantive, you might try here, but what I write below is something that I have been thinking about recently. What are we to…
Chapter 13, Uncategorized
The IRS and Plan-Busting Tax Claims
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Unlike other creditors, taxing authorities like the IRS and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue can file proofs of claim in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases for post-petition taxes. This right comes from Section 1305 of the Bankruptcy Code, and it usually…
Debt Collection
After Getting Sued on a Debt in Massachusetts: Supplementary Process and Capias Warrants
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This post isn’t about bankruptcy, but it’s about something that a lot of people who are deciding to file bankruptcy deal with. What happens after you stop paying a debt? The basic timeline of debt default goes like this (if…