In a recent decision which we hope indicates that the Bankruptcy Court is less open to the bankruptcy trustees’ ever-creative arguments for avoiding mortgages, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, Eastern Division, recently turned down...
Bankruptcy
Yes, in MA: Homestead Exemption Successfully Claimed by Holder of the Beneficial Interest in a Resulting Trust
In what appears to be an issue of first impression, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District Of Massachusetts, Western Division, has determined that the beneficiary of a court-imposed resulting trust may claim the homestead exemption in bankruptcy. The...
To Surrender or To Vest: That is the Question
Can a homeowner who owes more on their mortgage than their property is worth force the mortgagee to take title to the property as part of a bankruptcy plan? Put more simply: can an underwater homeowner, by filing bankruptcy, force a bank to take their property off...
Homestead Protection in Bankruptcy for Property that Houses In-Home Occupations
Does the Homestead exemption apply in bankruptcy where the home in question is a mixed-use building where the debtor both lives and runs a business? In a recent decision, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, on an appeal from the...
Mortgage Notary Acknowledgments Continue to Present Problems for Creditors in Bankruptcy Proceedings
Mortgage notary acknowledgments are still causing issues in bankruptcy, as seen in two recent cases. In both, the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts addressed the sufficiency of two allegedly defective notary acknowledgments which were challenged...
First Circuit Considering Certification of Defective Mortgage Notary Clause Issue to SJC
There is a First Circuit Court of Appeals case, Bank of America, N.A. v. Debora A. Casey, Chapter 7 Trustee for Alvaro M. Pereira (1st Cir. Case No. 14-2115), on appeal from the U.S. District Court (MA), which raises interesting issues concerning defective notary...