Often people who are deep in debt, are more afraid to confront the reality of their situation than anything else. That fear can lead people to do things they never thought they would do: to stop opening their mail, to stop answering the phone for fear of dealing with bill collectors, or even to lie to their family and friends.

It is important to understand that you are not alone. You are not the first person to go through a crisis and there are resources out there to help you.

To read about how even an economic reporter fell into the trap of overusing credit check out this New York Times article: http://tinyurl.com/qukwpb.

UPDATE: There is pending legislation for major changes to the alimony statute in Massachusetts. The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 was filed on January 18, 2011 and you can learn more about the Act at MassAlimonyFormula.com or in our recent blog post highlighting the differences between the bill and the current law.

As previously reported on this Blog, there is an ongoing (and at times heated) debate in Massachusetts right now over how to amend the alimony statute. Despite how long this debate has been going on, it appears that we may finally be closer to some changes.

The Legislative Task Force appointed by Newton Senator, Cynthia Creem, is reportedly close to a recommendation which could have the backing of Judges, attorneys and at least some of the reformists. Although the final Bill is not complete yet, it will likely be filed prior to the deadline for this session, January 21, 2011, and include provisions relating to guidelines and duration as recomended by the Joint Task Force Report. It is also likely that the new Bill will address issues raised by the recent Pierce decision as to how alimony should be affected by retirement.

We'll have to wait until the Bill is filed to report on the actual specifics, but stay tuned!