With the Fourth of July coming up it is time to take a look back at what our Founding Fathers thought of bankruptcy and just how much bankruptcy has changed since then. The national holiday celebrates the passage of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson himself had seen financial struggles first hand. A Virginia planter, it…
Join us on August 3rd at Grill on the Hill, located in Worcester, from 6PM to 9PM. The night will consist of an assortment of games, a variety of food, and a DJ! All proceeds from the night will go directly to support our organization so that we can continue our efforts to help families across Massachusetts recover from debt…
At MDRF we work hard to ensure that every client is receiving the best possible representation, which includes filing the correct Chapter. ProPublica and The Atlantic published an eye-opening article about the practice in Memphis, of filing Chapter 13 bankruptcies when the client would have qualified for a Chapter 7, all to get paid. There are two main Chapters for…
If you have a loan on your vehicle, generally you will get to keep it, provided you continue to pay the lender just like you did before you filed bankruptcy. If you miss payments on your car, the lender can repossess your vehicle, but they usually need to obtain permission from the Bankruptcy Judge before doing this. Loans on cars…
If you’re considering bankruptcy, it is very likely you have received correspondence and phone calls from creditors. Creditor calls and never-ending threatening letters in the mail make your debt always on your mind. A recent study reported by Global Citizen in the article “This is Your Brain on Poverty: 5 Facts,” shows how constantly being reminded, let alone harassed, of your…
Dealing with insurmountable debt and making the decision to file bankruptcy can be a deeply personal and overwhelming experience. However you choose to address your debt, whether through consolidation, settlement or bankruptcy, the process is usually full of anxiety and eventually, great relief. And it’s an experience that individuals often hide from others. The perceived stigma that when you fall into…
A lot of clients ask us if they will have to go before a Judge after they file bankruptcy, but in nearly all cases you will never see the inside of a courtroom. Instead, when you file bankruptcy you have to attend the “meeting of creditors,” also called a “341 meeting” after the section of the law that requires it. This…
Filing bankruptcy can be a very daunting decision, but it is also a life-changing, positive tool that provides a true fresh start. After filing the collection agencies stop calling, there are no more court judgments or hearings to collect debts, wage garnishments must stop, and there is immediate relief from the constant stress and anxiety. For low income individuals, bankruptcy relief…
Most of the tasks that you will have to do as a client are at the beginning of your case. The bankruptcy process is “frontloaded,” meaning that most, if not all of the information that will be asked of you, must be provided to your lawyer before your case is filed. When you file bankruptcy you are required to submit…
Although a bankruptcy discharge can provide a much needed fresh start, there is one type of debt that nearly always survives, preventing the true ability to start over: student loan debt. Under the current law it can be extremely difficult to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy, and because the lenders usually fight tooth and nail to prevent the discharge, any…