Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

As a consumer bankruptcy attorney, I see people everyday struggling to get back to their feet after the economy has taken its toll on their finances. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a very effective way to reorganize your debts and force creditors to accept a manageable payback plan, often for pennies on the dollar of the debt owed. You may be saying that sounds great, and it actually is very beneficial for the debtor who files. But, as with everything there are some drawbacks. If you want to make any significant financial moves, you will need to run it by the Judge.

In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Judge is involved in determining how bankruptcy debtors are permitted to spend their money. That means bankruptcy debtors also must ask for the Court’s approval before entering into certain financial transactions.

Continue reading " Can I Get A Loan During My Chapter 13? " »

So you’ve filed bankruptcy, and you need to attend a Section 341 Meeting of Creditors with the trustee. So, who is this trustee? This is an important concept to understand before going into that 341 Meeting.

The trustee is the person appointed by the court to act as a neutral third party in reviewing your case and administering your assets (in other words, getting the creditors paid what they are entitled to in your case – or determining that they are not entitled to anything).

Continue reading " Who Is The Chapter 13 Trustee? " »

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, the trustee is responsible for liquidating assets for the benefit of creditors - all the debtor has to do if they don't have the cash to "re-purchase" a particular asset (or simply don't want to re-purchase it) is to hand the asset over to the trustee and wash their hands clean of it.

In a Chapter 13 case, however, the trustee does not perform this role, so the debtor does not have this option. It is the debtor's responsibility to turn assets into cash if needed in order to pay the minimum amount that it is determined their creditors must receive during the case.

So what happens if the debtor does not have the cash available to pay the required amount to the trustee, but at the same time is unable to sell the asset(s)? My clients have been running into this problem increasingly often these days, particularly with real estate due to the downturn in the market. So what is the solution?

Continue reading " Can I Sell Assets In Chapter 13? " »

One of the biggest concerns my clients come to me with these days are 1099s for property surrendered in bankruptcy. Typically, lenders send borrowers 1099s for taxable income representing any debt they have forgiven after taking back a foreclosed property. For example, if you borrow $100,000.00, and the lender is only able to recover $60,000.00 from you on the debt, the lender can cancel the remaining debt and send a 1099 for the remaining $40,000.00. This $40,000.00 is treated as income to the borrower.

Continue reading " 1099’s in Bankruptcy for Surrendered Property " »

Have you ever wanted to track the status of your Chapter 13? Well, the National Data Center makes it possible to do just that. This website should be used by all Chapter 13 Debtors as a source of information on their cases. The National Data Center (NDC) was established by Chapter 13 Trustees and gives on-going details of case and claims information.

The NDC provides:
(1) information such as the payment amount,
(2) the 341 (meeting of creditor's) date
(3) the date the case was confirmed
(4) has an account ledger showing payments made by the debtor
(5) shows claims paid by the trustee
(6) provides a claims register where you can review the creditor's claims information.

Continue reading " Track Your Chapter 13 Case Online " »

Chapter 7 bankruptcy has saved many individuals, and then sometimes, the it cannot help at all. It is no secret that today’s real estate market in Florida has plummeted. It is also no secret that the declined market has led to numerous bankruptcies and, in most circumstances, the bankruptcy is able to save the property owners from the negative equity and potential deficiency liability from the properties. However, there are some circumstances where not even a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can allow a fresh start from the property.

Continue reading " When Bankruptcy Does Not Help? " »

Members of Congress are meeting this week to discuss the ongoing financial crisis faced by a majority of States. On January 22, 2010 I wrote a blog titled: Can A State Declare Bankruptcy? At the time, I didn't think Congress would actually consider getting involved in the State's individual financial problems. This is the same Congress that has put the American people $14 Trillion dollars in debt. These guys and gals are going to help the states. Really. Well, no thank you.

First, Congress must decide if they are going to get involved. Let's hope they don't and the inquiry will end there. I'm just really concerned about the Federal Government stepping into anything these days. Their history of fixing things is concerning.

Continue reading " Congress Meeting About States Debt Crisis: Are You Kidding Me? " »

January 2011 Bankruptcy Filings were down slightly across the United States when compared to the number of filings in December 2010. In January 2011 approximately 92,500 personal bankruptcies were filed. In December 2010, approximately 118,000 personal bankruptcies were filed. Is this a sign of an economic recovery? No, I don't think so. I honestly do not know why filings were down. In our office we saw a bit of a slow down in December 2010 and January 2011; however, February has started like an ordinary crazy month.

Continue reading " January Bankruptcy Filings Fall Over 20% " »

It’s tax season again. That means people across the country fortunate enough to receive one are starting to think about what they are going to do with their tax refunds. People in bankruptcy are no different. Nothing would be worse than going through your bankruptcy and not getting your discharge because you’ve spent your unprotected tax refund because you didn’t speak to your attorney first.

Continue reading " Tax Refunds in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy " »

Bankruptcy isn’t the end of the world, whether you are an individual or a major corporation. Many felt the American auto industry was nearly finished when General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection in July of 2009. It turns out, however, filing bankruptcy didn’t mean the ruin of GM. Rather, it meant its rebirth. After running deficits every quarter since 2007, GM reported it turned a profit of $865 million in the first quarter 2010.

Continue reading " Bankruptcy Makes Economic Sense " »