Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

The FDCPA is an Act that Congress passed in response to a growing number of abusive collection practices that creditors used to collect consumer debts. The act provides guidelines that creditors must follow when trying to collect debts from consumers. Before mentioning the restrictions that are imposed upon debt collectors, it is important to distinguish whom the Act applies to. The Act applied to debt collectors: any person who regularly collects debts that are owed to others. This also applies to attorney collectors. However, in-house collections are not covered. So if the collection department from your favorite store is contacting you regarding your credit card with them, they are not covered by the FDCPA. (They are governed by the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act.) However, if that same store used an outside collection agency, that agency is governed by the FDCPA.

Some restrictions that the FDCPA puts on debt collectors are:

1. Debt collectors cannot contact a third party who does not owe the debt, such as your employer, relative, or friend.

2. Debt collectors cannot threaten to turn over your account to an attorney, garnish your wages, or repossess your property UNLESS they have an actual intention of doing so.

3. Debt collectors must call between 8am and 9pm, unless you give them permission to do otherwise.

4. Debt collectors cannot use obscenities, insults, or racial slurs.

5. Debt collectors cannot threaten to arrest you if you do not pay the debt.

These are just some of the major rules of the FDCPA, there are many more. If you feel that a creditor has violated this law when trying to collect from you, contact a Jacksonville bankruptcy lawyer today for a consultation.

Yes. When you file bankruptcy, you have the option to keep or surrender secured collateral, including real property. So you can decide, with the help of your Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney, for each property that you own what would be in your financial best interest: to surrender the property to the creditor or to retain the property and continue payments. But be mindful that in Florida, you can only take one homestead exemption in bankruptcy.

If you are behind on your payments, this can be cured. You can pay the arrearages that you owe through your Chapter 13 Plan. Talk with a bankruptcy attorney today to decide if keeping both a homestead and rental property would be in your financial best interest.

Under a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can keep your home by reaffirming the debt. This means that you will, through a Statement of Intention, tell the creditor that you wish to keep the property and will continue to be liable for the loan.

If you are behind in payments, however, you will probably want to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy. This will allow you to keep your home and pay the arrearages that you owe through your chapter 13 Plan. This Plan will be anywhere from 3-5 years in length and will allow you to catch up on all the monies owed to keep your house. You can put all your creditors in the Plan, including liens by homeowner's associations, second mortgages, tax debt, etc. You can even, through the Plan, catch up on arrearages for your vehicle.

If you are thinking of filing bankruptcy and you want to learn more about how to keep your home, contact a Jacksonville attorney today for a free consultation.

Almost any debt that you owe when you file a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy or a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can get discharged in a Florida bankruptcy. There are a few exceptions for debt that cannot be discharged. The most common examples of non-dischargeable debts are student loans, federal and state taxes, some government fines, alimony, child support, etc. A personal loan is dischargeable unless it is secured by collateral. In other words, if you secured the loan with your house or car or other item, then you must either pay the debt or surrender the item. If the price of the item does not cover the full debt, the deficiency amount would still be discharged. However, if the personal loan is unsecured, it can be totally dis-chargeable.

To discuss which loans will be dischargable and which will not, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer to discuss your situation.

In these tough economic times, this is a common question clients ask their Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer . In Florida, a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can help a debtor keep their home or car if they are behind in their payments. In a Florida Chapter 13 Bankruptcy , the debtor repays the arrearages that they owe through a chapter 13 Plan that can span 3-5 years. This helps the debtor cure their default amount and save their home.

Also, when a debtor files a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, an automatic stay is put into place that prohibits creditors from trying to collect from the debtor. The automatic stay will stop the foreclosure proceedings. If the debtor fulfills the chapter 13 Plan, the home loan will be brought current.

If you have a second mortgage and the home is worth less than the primary mortgage, a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will strip the second or third mortgages and you will own nothing on these loans.

This is great news for those behind on their mortgage payments! Speak with a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer now to discuss how to save your home.

What is a bankruptcy trustee and what do they do? A Florida Bankruptcy trustee is appointed by the Court to represent and protect the creditors. The trustee will review your bankruptcy filings, look for signs of abuse, and often liquidate assets or collect on potential claims. The trustee is not a judge ands as such will not rule on motions or grant bankruptcy discharges. It the trustee's job to maximize recovery for the creditors. Your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer will know how to list assets in a way to maximize your exempt assets and allow you to keep the largest amount or most desirable property.

The client will be assigned a Florida trustee and will meet them for the first time at the 341 Meeting of the creditors

Contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer to discuss how to structure your bankruptcy to discuss your situation and achieve your goals.