Welcome
Specializing in Insolvency, Bankruptcy & Debt Restructuring.
No one ever plans on being weighed down by debt and no one ever lends money without an expectation of being repaid. Yet sometimes, life does not go the way we planned or hoped.
If you and your family are drowning in debt and do not know where to turn, if you are concerned about losing your home to foreclosure, if your business has declined and you are concerned about the future, or if you are a creditor who finds themselves in a bankruptcy case, you have rights and options.
We can help you seize opportunities and navigate you through the complex legal terrain of Bankruptcy Law, Mortgage Modification and Debt Restructuring.
To learn how McLeod Law Offices can help you reach your goals, contact us today.
August 31st, 2010
A rather interesting decision has come out of the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas at Dallas. The decision is only 4 pages, but in addition to quoting Janis Joplin, it speaks to something that debtors need to hear, that people thinking about bankruptcy need to hear, and that attorneys practicing in bankruptcy court sometimes need to be reminded of.
While the decision follows this blog, I’ve filled in the lines a bit by looking at the public records and bringing in some additional facts.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Automatic Stay, Automobiles, Chapter 13, Cure and Maintain Agreements
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 | No Comments » | Permalink
August 30th, 2010
In July 2009, I blogged about “Things I Won’t Do” which includes taking what I know will be someone’s last buck to file a bankruptcy case that I know will fail… and there seems to be this level of agnst that I cannot help them. I’ve received a few calls lately from folks who have not read it. So I’m posting it again with the reminder that I’m in the business of helping people move forward in their lives.
Or as I said recently to someone, “I’m a bankruptcy lawyer. I cannot turn water into wine.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bankruptcy attorney, Boston bankruptcy attorney, foreclosures, Massachusetts Bankruptcy Attorney, Plan B
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 | 1 Comment » | Permalink
August 26th, 2010
This was first posted in March 2008. More than two years later, the housing market is still in the pits, and more folks are opting to simply walk away from real estate they can no longer afford. Little has changed. And I dare say, it’s getting worse (although those seeking relection this year might want to disagree). If you own a condo or are in a homeowners association, the 2005 changes to the Bankruptcy Code force you to take some new issues into consideration.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BAPCPA, Discharge of Debts, Homes, homesteads and real estate, Mortgages and Foreclosures, Walking Away
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy, Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Foreclosures and Real Estate | No Comments » | Permalink
August 24th, 2010
I wrote this in May 2007. It’s funny how some things still hold true.
A Table Saw Crosses the Road
Tags: bankruptcy attorney, bankruptcy lawyer, The 20-5 Series
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy | No Comments » | Permalink
August 19th, 2010
I was recently retained by a client who – like many people struggling nowadays – tried to tackle their mounting financial problems by going to a debt settlement company. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: debt settlement companies are a rip-off. The proof is in how empty my client’s wallet is now, and where my client is now.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: attorneys, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, credit, Credit and Debt, credit card, Debt Settlement or Consolidation, discharge, Discharge of Debts, Petition Preparers and Fees, Pre Bankruptcy Planning and Strategy, Rip Offs
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Debt Settlement or Consolidation | 2 Comments » | Permalink
August 17th, 2010
Some Massachusetts homeowners have this peculiar belief that a homestead declaration is the legal equivalent of a real Chinese fire wall (i.e., with flames). That it keeps creditors at bay, allowing you to live in bliss in your home until you die or get sick of it and want to move on to a greener patch of grass. That’s not entirely the case. Not all debts are covered and not all creditors can be kept at bay. If you’re up to your eyeballs in debt, relying on the Homestead Declaration and only on the Homestead Declaration to keep your home from creditors will lead you to an unhappy and mythical place I call the Valley of Disappointment.
I came up with the Valley of Disappointment because I thought it seemed like a humourous metaphor But then, just to be safe, I did a websearch and just want to caution my readers not to confuse my mythical and metaphorical Valley of Disappointment, with Disappointment Valley which is: (1) a real valley located in Colorado; as well as (2) a documentary which according to IMDb “examines the plight of America’s wild horses and the rapidly deteriorating condition of our wild Public Lands.” Any similarity between my imaginary Valley and the real thing or the movie is totally unintentional and accidental…and kind of scary.
I envision the Valley of Disappointment as a place where none of the stores are open when you need them to be, and those that are all have the products you don’t want at prices you can afford, and products you need at prices that shock the conscience. I envision it as a place where the traffic lights stay green for only three seconds before they jump to red, where they stay for 3 minutes. It’s a place where things just don’t go your way, and you feel pretty powerless to do anything about it. It’s generally always cloudy or rainy. The street signs are all confusing, and it can be tough to navigate your way through it or out of it. Sometimes you just don’t know how you got there. Other times you do, and that knowledge can sometimes make it all worse. But enough about what I envision about the Valley of Disappoitment… I was talking about Homestead rights:
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Discharge of Debts, Homes, homesteads and real estate, Lien Stripping, modification, Modifications and Workouts, Pre Bankruptcy Planning and Strategy, taxes, Valley of Disappointment
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy, Chapter 13, Consumer Rights, Foreclosures and Real Estate | No Comments » | Permalink
August 4th, 2010
Some espouse the belief that if you’re up to your eyeballs in debt, it’s better to eat beans and rice for weeks, months and years until the debt is paid. I won’t mention names. This isn’t about them. While it’s pretty indefensible to live a lifestyle you cannot afford at the expense of creditors, it’s even worse to lead a lifestyle that can be downright counterproductive and harmful when you’re trying to pay your creditors. There’s being “super frugal” and then there is being “stupid frugal.” So today, I want to cover a few things I’ve noticed people doing while they are trying to pay down their debt. I sharing my observations, but I think it’s good if you consider it food for thought.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bankruptcy, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Credit and Debt, Debt Settlement or Consolidation, Discharge of Debts, Yep. We're in trouble.
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Debt Settlement or Consolidation | 2 Comments » | Permalink
July 30th, 2010
It was twenty years ago this week that I put down two days of food for Annie & Cissie (my cats), and packed up my sad navy blue Ford Escort for what would be a long and life changing trip to the Elm City. Twenty years ago this week, I sat for the Connecticut bar exam. I took the Connecticut exam because I believed – during a time when the economy was lousy – that I, as a graduate of Western New England College School of Law in Springfield would have a far better chance of landing a job in the Constitution/Nutmeg state than competing with unemployed graduates and recently displaced attorneys in either Boston or New York. I was right. Sort of. That however, is for another day.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: The 20-5 Series
Posted by Bill McLeod in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Permalink
July 29th, 2010
I’ve been blogging here for almost five years. I’ve been trying to find a fitting way to mark that anniversary. But 2010 is not only the 5 year anniversary of this blog – and of my venture into on-line writing, education, regurgitating and at times postulating. It’s also the 20 year anniversary of my becoming an attorney. And since blogging is a form of “social media”, it got me thinking…
The whole “social media” thing that people talk, consult and some even obsess about: The Twittering. The Facebooking. The Blogging. Isn’t it really just another way of being “out there” and “being seen?” Yes – it is. “Being seen” has really has evolved since I started blogging.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: The 20-5 Series
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy | No Comments » | Permalink
July 27th, 2010
Even though I have written and spoken publicly about the perils of representing oneself in bankruptcy, people still do it. I recently came across a case where a lawyer – with a boatload of legal problems – was sanctioned for essentially abandoning his clients during a bankruptcy case. But I’m not writing about that lawyer or what he did that got him into so much hot water with the Bankruptcy Court. Rather, what I write about today is what District of Massachusetts Bankruptcy Judge Melvin Hoffman had to say about the bankruptcy process, and the role of a debtor’s attorney. So if you’re still thinking you can or should go through the bankruptcy process alone, take a few minutes and read this.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: attorneys, Petition Preparers and Fees, pro se
Posted by Bill McLeod in Bankruptcy, Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Chapter 7 | 1 Comment » | Permalink
