Michael A. Goldstein - EzineArticles.com Expert Author

Report this author if you suspect they are involved in any fraudulent practices.

Suggest a topic or article headline you would like the author to write about.

Michael A Goldstein graduated from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Deans List, with a Bachelors of Art in Finance and Operations Management in 2000. Attorney Goldstein received his Juris Doctor from The Massachusetts School of Law in 2005. Subsequent to passing the Massachusetts bar, Attorney Goldstein, along with Attorney Deirdre Clegg founded the Law Office of Goldstein and Clegg, LLC, a firm representing, counseling and advising clients on Internet business matters, small business representation, ... [More]

[View Michael A. Goldstein's Extended Author Bio]

[Display Categories] Sort By [Title] [Newest] [Oldest]

Michael A. Goldstein Email Alerts

Understanding the New Credit Card Laws
[Finance:Credit-Tips] There are many sweeping changes to the way credit card companies conduct business. the following are some of the key changes including restrictions on raising interest rates permanently on borrowers who are delinquent 60 or more days. If the Consumer pays on time for 6 straight months, the credit card interest rate must be reinstated to the original lower rate.

Deed For Lease Program
[Real-Estate:Leasing-Renting] Even if you don't qualify for a loan modification through the HAMP or some other loan workout program, you may be able to qualify for the Deed for Lease Program by Fannie Mae ("D4L"). This is a new option for qualified borrowers or tenants of borrowers who are facing foreclosure.

How to Remove a Judgment Lien From Your Property
[Legal:Real-Estate-Law] Many homeowners have found themselves in the position of owing money on a debt which they simply can not pay back, or have been sued by someone and failed to respond to the law suit. When this happens...

Preservation of Records Prior to Filing For Bankruptcy
[Finance:Bankruptcy-Tips-Advice] There are certain things any business owner must do in preparation for bankruptcy. You must make sure you know how much money you have spent and on what. In essence, you must be very careful to preserve all corporate records. If you do not, and a creditor or the Bankruptcy Court Trustee finds out, then you may not be entitled to a bankruptcy discharge.

What is the Home Affordable Modification Program Guidelines?
[Finance:Loans] The Affordable Home Modification Program is a shared debt reduction program between your lender and the government. The first step is for your lender to reduce your monthly mortgage payments including (principal, interest, taxes, insurance and condo fees) to reflect no more then 38% of your gross income.

Foreclosure Or Bankruptcy - Which is the Lesser of Two Evils
[Finance:Bankruptcy] In the current economy, inundated with bad mortgages, many of which stem from predatory lending practices, coupled with credit card debt spinning out of control, bankruptcy Foreclosure have become common place. For many homeowners, a decision needs to be made as to which of these terms is the lesser of two evils.

Loan Mortgage Modifications Advice
[Real-Estate:Mortgage-Refinance] If you are behind on your mortgage payments or are struggling to stay current on your loan payments, you may have considered refinancing your loan. However, if you have been turned down for a refinancing, and your home is worth less then you owe on it, you may be able to modify your loan.

The Difference Between Loan Modifications and Refinancing
[Real-Estate:Mortgage-Refinance] A loan modification is simply a homeowner asking the mortgage company to modify the current terms of their mortgage. Homeowners will ask a mortgage company to modify their mortgage because of being late on payments, variable interest rates, too high of monthly mortgage payments and etc.

Mortgage Loan Modifications
[Real-Estate:Mortgage-Refinance] We all heard about the great "bailout" of 2008. We heard both the pros and the cons with our government bailing out several banks, insurance companies, financial institutions and etc. However, the biggest pro for homeowners will come from this bailout. The pro is that mortgage companies are now starting to stop foreclosure sales, short sales and going back to the owners to modify their loans so to allow them to keep their home irrespective of their failure to pay their mortgage payments. Therefore, debtors will begin to see an order of process for homeowners to fight to keep their homes in these unprecedented times of financial suffering.

Cramming Down Secured Property
[Real-Estate] A very powerful tool debtors have at their disposal should they find themselves in a bankruptcy situation is the ability to pay only the value of an asset. This is particularly enticing if you have a lien against secured property such as an automobile, mortgage on income property (but not on a residence) or piece of furniture that far exceeds the value of the property.

Removing Second Mortgages Though Lien Stripping
[Finance:Bankruptcy] The most common issue for an individual nowadays is the situation where a homeowner who has a first and second mortgage on a primary residence is facing bankruptcy and wondering if they have the ability to save the family home. As real estate markets fall and the fair market values of the homes fall, homeowners are left with mortgages that far exceed the current fair market value of their homes. There is a process which could be of help to many in this situation and it is called lien stripping.

The Difference Between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code
[Finance:Bankruptcy-Personal] Individuals who have amassed large debts have many options. However, if an individual finds that non-bankruptcy alternatives are not feasible, a decision then must be then made between filing a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding or a debt adjustment proceeding under A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is best described as obtaining a discharge from debts (with some exceptions) while retaining some assets such as a home, household goods and an automobile as long as they do not exceed certain values determined by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 7 is consider a "liquidation" decision however if filed correctly and using the Bankruptcy Code to the best of your ability some assets can be retained while crushing debt is removed.

Trusts May Not Protect Your Assets From Creditors
[Legal:Elder-Law] An individual's largest asset is usually their homes. In an attempt to keep these large assets in the family and to avoid probate, individuals are either gifting the homes away to children early by signing over the deed or setting up a living revocable or irrevocable trust. Unfortunately sometimes these instruments are not used properly, don't take in all that needs to be done in estate planning and could cause harms not initially apparent when initially create them.

Creditors Do Not Have an Automatic Right to Accelerate Debts
[Finance:Debt-Relief] Pursuant to the U.S. Bankruptcy code, subsequent to a debtor filing a chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy, they are unable to obtain another discharge of unsecured debt for 8 years. As such, many debtors believe they have no way out of new debt incurred. This could not be further from the truth. There is substantial statutory and case law that suggests a right to negotiate in good faith with creditors. Moreover, creditors must partake in the interactive process.

Shouldn't You Be Able to Discharge Your Student Loans in a Bankruptcy?
[Finance:Bankruptcy] Many students today leave college and graduate schools with mounting bills before they ever commence their employment life. In many cases these student loans can amount to an excess of $200,000. The monthly payments new graduates face can be as significant as $1,200 per month. Couple that payment with the uncertainty of the US and world economy and the situation truly appears to be grim. So the question beckons, shouldn't you be able to discharge your student loans in a bankruptcy?

Mortgage Forgiveness Relief Act of 2007
[Finance:Commercial-Loans] The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was enacted on December 20, 2007 to assist homeowners who are in such a predicament. Normally, a homeowner, in an attempt to avoid foreclosure would modify their current mortgages, that is, "short sell" the property, or deed their home in lieu of foreclosure back to the bank holding the lien on the property.

Avoiding Foreclosures
[Real-Estate:Foreclosures] Once foreclosure becomes evident, first and foremost the homeowner must make the determination if they in fact want to try to keep the home, if they are financially able to save the home or if it would be more feasible to allow the home to go into foreclosure. Most homeowners attempt to avoid foreclosure due to the misconception that they will save their credit rating if their home is not foreclosed on.

Protecting Debtors From Failure to Hire - Promote Or Termination After Filing Bankruptcy
[Finance:Bankruptcy] The stigma of filing bankruptcy has stopped many debtors who rightfully and probably necessarily need to file bankruptcy. The truth of the matter is that filing bankruptcy is a right granted to all Americans by Congress and as such, is a protected right. As a protected right, it is illegal to discriminate against debtors as employees pursuant to both Massachusetts law, MGL 151B, and Federal Law (Civil Rights Act and Bankruptcy Code).

Massachusetts Foreclosure Statue Unconstitutional?
[Real-Estate:Foreclosures] It is my contention that certain Massachusetts laws regulating foreclosure of homes do not meet the standard set by the due process clause of the 14th and 5th Amendment of the Untied States Constitution.

Employees Who Engage in Sexual Activity at Work Can Still Claim Sexual Harassment
[Legal:Employment-Law] when a Plaintiff has engaged in conduct at work that may be construed as sexual in nature, whether it be sending sexually explicit emails, viewing pornography at work on their workstation or other similar conduct. The question that must be asked is whether such a person can assert a claim for sexual harassment and survive the Defendant's challenge that such a person can not claim any sexual comments or activity is unwelcome.

How Chapter 13 Can Stop A Foreclosure
[Finance:Bankruptcy-Tips-Advice] A debtor has a mechanism though the bankruptcy code, which can effectuate a complete stop to any foreclosure proceedings. Even if a bank has obtained a court order to foreclose, and even if the bank has set up a foreclosure action date, a debtor can stop those proceedings by way of filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Teen Girls - The Subject of Sexual Harassment
[Legal:Employment-Law] The problem is that many companies employ part time teenage employees, who neither understand the ramifications of sexual harassment nor take part in any of the training programs, read the manuals or are spoken to regarding sexual harassment by their supervisors, who in many cases are also teenagers. This is particularly a problem for businesses one would commonly find in a shopping mall, such as fast food, retail and amusement park companies.

Chapter 13 Can Save You From Foreclosure, Short Of A Discharge
[Finance:Bankruptcy] Where home foreclosures seem to be commonplace, and where debtors have few options to stop a foreclosure, when the bank does not want to negotiate with the debtor, a chapter 13 filing may be the only way out. The bankruptcy code has set a time frame which a debtor can not file and obtain a discharge in a chapter 13 case, if they have already filed another chapter.

Employment Retaliation A Form Of Discrimination
[Legal] an employer can be liable under the discrimination statute even if they don't necessarily discriminate against a protected class of individuals. Rather, an employer can discriminate against a person who is simply attempting to conduct some activity protected by the law. If an adverse action is taken as a result of an employee conducing a protected activity the law recognizes this a form of discrimination call retaliation.

Wrongful Termination Claim Barred By Failure To Advise Bankruptcy Court
[Legal] If an employee fails to list any contingent claims of value, the claim can be dismissed. A Federal court recently held an employee is prohibited from omitting a discrimination claim from her bankruptcy petition and then trying to bring it after having her debts discharged. The courts reasoning was that if debtors with possible employment claims might be encouraged to "scam" their creditors by keeping those claims hidden.

Federal Courts Acknowledge Online Propensity
[Legal] On December 1, 2007, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure received several updates, demonstrating the Federal Courts acknowledgment of the impact of online activity in our daily lives. Several rules were modified to include technological vernacular. Most notably, Rules 11 and 26, which directs attorney's contact information to be added to pleadings further, directs attorney e-mail addresses to be included with the already required mailing addresses and phone numbers.

Massachusetts Jurisdiction Over Internet Based Companies
[Legal:Cyber-Law] If an individual conducts business over the internet with a web-based company and the parties enter into an agreement, and the company either breaches the agreement or commits some form of fraudulent or deceptive business practice with the buyer, can the buyer sue the company in his or her home state? The issue become even more complex or confusing if the defendant's place of business is unknown, and all of the Defendants business is conducted through the internet. Even given this complex and confusing situation, a court would likely allow the buyer to bring suit in their home ...

Massachusetts Law is More Friendly to the Disabled then Federal Law
[Legal:National-State-Local] In yet another great example of how Massachusetts law is more favorable to discriminated employees than its Federal equivalent, the Federal Courts have limited the statute of limitations on filing wage discrimination claims. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled this past summer that statutory limitation provision in Title VII require that employees file wage discrimination claims with the EEOC within 180 days of the employer's initial decision that resulted in the discriminatory salary.

Internet Jurisdiction - Can You Sue From Home?
[Legal:Cyber-Law] If you purchase an item on a small business website, but the product you receive does not conform to the specifications as indicated on the merchants website, what can you do? Can you file litigation in your home state, or must you sue them where the company is headquartered?

Whether Instant Messaging Can Lead to Defamation
[Legal:Cyber-Law] Instant messaging or "IM" a technology permitting users to send and receive text messages to one or multiple parties without a time delay between sending and receipt of the message is a powerful tool. Using this technology is similar to having a conversation with another person, just like that person was in the room with you. The difference is that the two or more people may be several miles or even continents apart.

When Do Independent Contractors Own A Copyright On Their Work?
[Legal:Copyright] To determine who truly owns the rights to a work, a full analysis is generally required. As a general rule, under section 201(a) of the United States Copyright Act, copyright ownership "vests initially with the author or authors of the work." 17 U.S.C. § 201(a). For example, if Victoria draws a picture of a park, she is the owner of the copyright.

The Unconstitutionality of the Florida Property Tax
[Legal:National-State-Local] If you held title to a particular residential property in Delray Beach, Florida the annual property tax due to the town could be either $600 or $2,800. What determines the value owed? The answer may shock you. Your status as a person domiciled full time in the state of Florida vs. your status as a seasonal resident, aka, "snow birds." The answer to this question seems to violate the strict scrutiny standard of the equal protection clause of the constitution.

Terminated Employees Do You Know Your Rights?
[Legal:National-State-Local] Employees who were either terminated or simply quit should understand that they have a right to know everything their employers have said and written about them during their employment and even their application process.In Massachusetts, every employee has the right under Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 149, section 52C to receive a complete copy of the employee’s personal file.

PPC Ads Face A New Trademark Limitation
[Legal:Intellectual-Property] A federal court ruled last week that it is not only a trademark violation any longer to use another company’s trademark to deceive search engine users in the paid ad headline. The court has further ruled, that you can not purchase a trademark as a keyword to bring up your paid listing on Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines.

Should Lawyers use Metadata?
[Legal:Cyber-Law] The question clearly beckons, should lawyers review metadata in documents? Is reviewing this data ethical, when the author of such data likely had no idea they were creating it? Metadata by its definition is simply, data about data. It can contain all sort of identifying information. One of the easiest ways for metadata to be left in a document is for the comments section to leave the comments feature turned on. Similarly, if you leave track changes turned on, the receiving attorney can not only read confidential comments that were meant to be intra-office or privileged communications between he attorney and client, but also the attorney can see what content was deleted from the document.

Did You Really Think You Were Ready For Law School?
[Legal] You thought you were ready for law school, didn't you? When you were in college, you took the intro to contracts and your history courses all covered constitutional law. You received high grades in those and other related classes. By all accounts, you should have hit the ground running

A New Lawyer's Best Friend – Pre Drafted Legal Forms
[Legal] A newly admitted lawyer to the Massachusetts Bar, has several options upon receiving his or her license to practice law. They can apply for an associate position with a big firm, and conduct research for the next five years; they can apply to work in a small firm and do all the work the senior lawyers do not want to deal with; they can hang their own shingle. This article will take the perspective of the later, i.e., a recent law school graduate with an entrepreneurial spirit, a little cash on hand, and a desire to start his or her own practice...

YouTube Could Be Liable for Copyright Infringement as a Result of Google’s Acquisition
[Legal:Cyber-Law] Can YouTube take refuse under the “safe harbor" provisions of the DMCA? That is the question of the day it seems for the video sharing web site. YouTube has been accused of intentionally developing and making available a technology with the intent to allow their users commit copyright infringement. This issue is directly on point with a case brought before the United States Supreme Court, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios inc. et al. v. Grokster, LTD., et al.