News Topic: TheFloridaBankruptcyLawBlog

An attorney called me to ask whether he continue a residential eviction after the tenant filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The landlord’s attorney had already obtained a writ of eviction for non-payment of rent.  ... Read full article

Sometimes a creditor with a cause of action against a corporation will try to “pierce the veil” of the corporation to hold liable the owners of the company if the creditor believes the owners have significant assets. There is a different concept called ... Read full article

Bankruptcy courts are split on the issue of whether a tax refund payable to a husband and wife filing a joint return is exempt tenants by entireties property in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy . ... Read full article

There have been many news reports recently about the large amount of student loan debt burdening young people entering the workforce. Most people know that bankruptcy may not discharge student loan debt except in circumstances of “extreme hardship.” . I ... Read full article

Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtors who surrender upside down real estate in Chapter 7 bankruptcy sometimes are surprised by liabilities that arise after the bankruptcy filing. A common example is the debtor’s liability for HOA dues that accrue in the months ... Read full article

Bankruptcy debtors are bound by the information on their bankruptcy petition, and debtors should not assume they can edit financial information to protect assets after the bankruptcy trustee requires the assets to be turned over. ... Read full article

The general rule is that a debtor may exempt proceeds from an exempt asset held in the debtor’s bank account so long as he can trace the funds to the exempt asset. Most bankruptcy courts interpret Florida’s asset exemptions to apply to the exempt assets ... Read full article

Many people have suggested buying a car through a small business corporation they own in order to protect the car from personal creditors. One debtor found that this planning back-fired when he filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy because it disqualified him from ... Read full article

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee is supposed to gather and sell all non-exempt personal property of significant value. Sometimes there are practical considerations that lead most trustees to leave valuable assets for the debtor. One of my Chapter 7 ... Read full article

Many clients have questions about their credit after filing bankruptcy. One of my clients called and asked whether his Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge of a credit card debt means that the creditor has to remove the debt from his credit report. ... Read full article

I received an inquiry from prospective bankruptcy clients who had moved to Florida from New York just over six months and had purchased jointly a Florida homestead . The wife had substantial unsecured debts and wanted to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy . ... Read full article

Withdrawals from your IRA or other tax deferred retirement accounts is part of income for purposes of calculating eligibility for Chapter 7 bankruptcy under the means test . Many debtors facing bankruptcy are using retirement income to survive ... Read full article

When someone borrows money from another person and then is unable, or simply unwilling, to pay back the loan the lender can feel that the borrower stole his money or defrauded him out of money. Can a creditor challenge the Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge ... Read full article

There are several bankruptcy court decisions which considered the debtor’s homestead exemption when the debtor used part of the homestead property to produce income. The general rule is that commercial uses on a homestead property situated within a ... Read full article

People who receive distributions of money from Ponzi schemes usually are expected to return the money to a trustee who takes over the operation when the Ponzi organizer files bankruptcy. The trustee usually attempts to “claw back” money distributed to the ... Read full article

Many people file Chapter 13 bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure, and some people file Chapter 7 bankruptcy to discharge mortgage deficiency liability. I think many people are filing bankruptcy prematurely, and unnecessarily, to deal with foreclosure. ... Read full article

A potential bankruptcy client wanted to avoid a deficiency judgment from a partially first mortgage on his home. The client’s income made him ineligible to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy which would have discharged the deficiency liability in full. The client ... Read full article

I received a call from an estate and probate attorney about one of his probate clients who filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida . The bankruptcy debtor had been appointed as personal representative of an estate before he had filed bankruptcy. Estate ... Read full article