Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

This post is submitted by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. founder of the The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Mr. Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney and is also one of the founding members of the Bankruptcy Law Network.

Normally, when a client goes to see a bankruptcy attorney for a bankruptcy consultation, it is usually the worst part of their day. Imagine what could be worse than walking into an attorney's office and putting all of your financial details on the table for discussion. Most people would rather be any other place in the world. Yesterday, I had the honor of sending a client a check for four (4) times the amount she paid me in attorney's fees for handling her bankruptcy case. That's right, the attorney sent the client a check. This happens all the time at the Dellutri Law Group, and the clients love it.

Continue reading " Discharge Violations Pay Off for Dellutri Law Group Clients " »

United States Bankruptcy Judge John C. Ninfo is taking financial literacy to the next level. As bankruptcy filings rise, Judge Ninfo is teaching students of all ages to live within their means. Although, the Judge has some very strong views about the people that he is seeing in his courtroom, his message is crystal clear to the students.

At the Dellutri Law Group, we encourage the members of our firm to go out into the public, especially schools and trade organizations, to speak with people about what we do and how we do it. In the bankruptcy/consumer world, people always have so many questions. This is also true when we go into classrooms and speak about personal injury cases. The questions are always entertaining and enlightening.

Continue reading " New York Bankruptcy Judge Is Taking Financial Literacy To The Students " »

This post is submitted by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Mr. Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney and is one of the founding members of the Bankruptcy Law Network, Mortgage Law Network, Debt Law Network and the Credit Law Network.

Citigroup just announced plans to fire approximately 2,000 investment bankers. This release comes just days after the Fed had to bail out Bear Stearns with billions of dollars in guarantees. What does this mean to you? me? and the future of this country?

Continue reading " CitiGroup Announces Plans to Lay Off 2000 Investment Banker " »

This post is submitted by Carmen Dellutri, Esq., Mr. Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney and founder of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. and one of the founding members of the Bankruptcy Law Network, Credit Law Network, Mortgage Law Network and the Debt Law Network.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last five years we have all seen or heard something identity theft. Hopefully, you have not been a victim of identity theft. If you have then you know what kind of horror story that follows. Although there has been quite a bit of information written about identity theft, many individuals haven't done enough about the problem.

Continue reading " Fraud Alerts: Are They Necessary? " »

Yesterday, on a Sunday, the Fed cut the discount interest rate a quarter of a point and still the Asian markets tumbled this morning. The Fed also helped bail out Bear Stearns over the weekend and gave the green light for JP Morgan to buy out Bear Stearns for $2 a share. Bennie and the Feds were very busy this weekend. But what does this mean for the average guy on the street? Well, the interest rate cuts are good if you are in the market to borrow money or if you are looking to consolidate your debt?

Continue reading " To Consolidate or Not to Consolidate? That is the Question. " »

This post is submitted by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. and one of the founding members of the Bankruptcy Law Network. Carmen Dellutri, Esq. is also on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Certification, which is the nation's premier legal specialty certification organization.

This morning I began a new blog for the Credit Law Network on the types of credit cards that consumer's have, carry, and use. The idea for this blog came after I received multiple credit card offers in yesterday's mail. You would think that with all the marketing done by the credit cards and the wealth of information contained in their data banks about consumer trends and spending habits, they would know that there is not a chance in hell that I am going to sign up for their credit cards. I would be willing to bet that they spent a small fortune marketing to just my house. Of course, I am also on the do not bother me list. But, that doesn't seem to stop the advertisements from being sent, and the mailman from having to deliver them.

Continue reading " Credit Cards Try To Lure You In With Affinity Cards " »

This post was written by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Carmen Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney and is one of the founding members of the Bankruptcy Law Network.

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, bankruptcy filings rose again in February 2008. Consumers filed approximately 76,120 petitions for bankruptcy relief. This total was up from the 66,050 filed in January. Interestingly, Chapter 13 bankruptcies were over 36% of the filings.

Continue reading " Bankruptcy Filings Up Again " »

This post is published by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. and a founding member of the Bankruptcy Law Network, Debt Law Network, Credit Law Network and Mortgage Law Network.

Unfortunately, Divorce and Bankruptcy go hand in hand in today's society. The problems that are associated with divorce and credit cards are all too familiar to bankruptcy attorneys. Usually, the problems don't arise until one of the parties stops paying on the debts that they agreed to pay in the divorce. Then the collection calls start, and the person who shouldn't be responsible for the debt contacts my office.

Continue reading " Divorce, Joint Credit Cards And Bankruptcy " »

I just attended a hearing in small claims court for two of my clients. I haven't been in small claims court for a couple of months. However, it appears that the number of small claims court filings are growing exponentially. I spoke with the attorney who is repesenting the creditors as local counsel, and he told me that he is working 7 days a week trying to keep up with the number of lawsuits coming into his office. He said that he has never seen anything like this. He predicted that the volume of lawsuits would continue through 2009. He based this upon the volumes of debt being purchased at substantial discounts. All of this debt will need to be collected in some way, shape or form.

Continue reading " Small Claims Court Are Being Overwhelmed By Collection Lawsuits " »

This post is written by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. of the Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Carmen Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney with offices in Port Charlotte, Fort Myers and Naples, Florida.

In the month of February2008, consumers across the nation filed over 76,000 bankruptcies. This is a staggering number, and the United States has not seen a number like this since before the BAPCPA. As you will recall, BAPCPA is the name of the new bankruptcy law which is now over 2 years old. The interesting part of this story is that the number of bankruptcy filings was up over 15% from January. That means over 10,000 more cases were filed in February. This may be a sign of things to come in the future.

Continue reading " Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Rise in February " »