The Law Offices of Diane Gordon

The Law Offices of Diane Gordon P.A. 2625 Weston Road Weston, FL 33331 Phone: 954-731-8904 Fax: 954-731-8228

Foreclosure Defense Bankruptcies Chapter 7 Bankruptcies Chapter 7 Means Test Chapter 13 Bankruptcies Unsecured Debt Secured Debt Bankruptcy Exemptions Which State Exemptions Apply Florida Exemptions Homestead Statutory Exemptions Automobile Exemptions Miscellaneous Personal Property Exemptions The Law Offices of Diane Gordon P.A. © 2010 Designed by ReadyToGoOnLine.com Home | About Us | Services | FAQ’s | FREE Case Evaluation | Contact Us Areas of Expertise

Whether you are a property owner facing a foreclosure, or an individual overwhelmed with debt, it is very important that you contact an attorney immediately who is knowledgeable in the areas of bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and alternatives to foreclosure such as loan modifications. At the Law Offices of Diane Gordon, we are understanding and knowledgeable of the challenging issues involving bankruptcy, foreclosure defense and loan modifications. We understand that each of our client’s future depends on our commitment to resolve their legal problems in a way that best suits their particular situation.

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The Law Offices of Diane Gordon P.A. is a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Florida Bankruptcy Code. Click a category below for more information on how Diane Gordon can help you with your legal needs.

Bankruptcies This firm handles the filing of bankruptcy cases in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. If you are overwhelmed in debt, harassed by creditors or if your salary or bank account is being garnished, you may want to consider filing a bankruptcy. Our firm can analyze your particular situation to determine if bankruptcy is the correct course of action. In this troubled economy, many people have lost their jobs, have had their hours cut at work, are separated or going through a divorce, or have suffered with illness with mounting medical bills. These unfortunate circumstances has caused many individuals to be put in a position of not being able to afford their monthly financial obligations. Many have turned to their credit cards to supplement their monthly bills. With credit card debt mounting and high interest rates being charged by the credit card companies, many people are faced with a situation where it is virtually impossible to pay off this debt. Bankruptcy can stop foreclosures, judgments, lawsuits, garnishments , harassing creditors, and repossessions. Bankruptcy gives people the opportunity to a “fresh start” and a “new beginning.” Bankruptcy is complex process which requires competent and qualified representation. The Law Offices of Diane Gordon has the compassion and skills to navigate you through a bankruptcy.

Foreclosure Defense sub-prime mortgage financial crisis has caused an unprecedented amount of foreclosures, especially in Florida. Foreclosure is a very traumatic and terrible experience. When facing a foreclosure, it is very important to seek the advise of a competent and experienced attorney. As a homeowner, you have a right to fight a foreclosure lawsuit. In order for a bank to foreclose, they must follow specific steps in the right order. Failure to hire a knowledgeable and experienced attorney may result in the bank taking advantage of you. In many cases, defending a foreclosure will allow you to delay the foreclosure process so that a solution can be worked out such as a short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or the negotiation of a loan modification.

Foreclosure is legal proceeding by a bank or lender which allows them to take back a property due to non payment . The recent downturn in the real estate market coupled with the

Chapter 7 Bankruptcies A Chapter 7 is the liquidation chapter of bankruptcy. It is a quick process, available to individuals, partnerships, and corporations, whereby the debtor can discharge most unsecured debts, while the secured debts remains unchanged. A trustee is appointed by the court to collect all of the debtor’s unprotected assets or non exempt property , reduce them to cash, and distribute the net proceeds from the sale to creditors Certain debtor assets are exempt from liquidation as governed by the appropriate state exemptions. A chapter 7 will eliminate most types of unsecured debt such as credit card bills, most personal loans, medical bills, many types of judgments, deficiencies on automobiles and real estate, and those debts which have been turned over to a collection agency. The primary purpose of a Chapter 7 is to discharge debts so a person can have a fresh start. Once a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is filed, the “automatic stay” will immediately go into effect, which will discontinue all contact any further collection efforts from creditors.

Chapter 7 Means Test The new bankruptcy law, "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act" passed in 2005, among other things, introduces a means test to determine if you qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you pass the means test, it is presumed that your bankruptcy is not abusive but if you fail the means test, it is presumed that your bankruptcy is abusive. The Chapter 7 means test is a formula applied to determine whether or not the consumer should have enough money available to make some minimal payment to creditors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan In order to pass the Means Test, you need to meet only one of these criteria. 1. The first step of the means Test is to compare your monthly income to the state median income for a household of your size. If you make less than the median income, you pass the Means Test and there is no need to go further. 2. If you make more than the state median income for a household of your size, the computations become more complex. You must determine whether you have enough income left over (called "disposable income"), after paying your "allowed" monthly expenses, to pay off at least a portion of your unsecured debts (such as credit card bills). If your disposable income adds up to more than a certain amount, you fail the means test and cannot file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcies A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also known as the “Adjustment of Debts of an Individual with regular Income.” It is a debt re-organization option where debts are paid over a period of time. The Chapter 13 debtor must submit a plan providing for the payment of creditors, which must be approved by the court. The bankruptcy code does not require that the plan provide full payment to the creditors. Once the plan is approved, the debtor is required to make monthly payments to the trustee as set forth in the plan. The trustee then distributes these funds to the appropriate creditors. In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, the debtor is usually allowed to keep his or her property. The debtor can restructure the secured debts and pay less than 100% of the unsecured debts over a period of 3 to 5 years. A chapter 13 can prevent repossession of an automobile and a foreclosure by allowing the debtor to get caught up and pay the arrearages over the time period in the plan. After completion of the payments under the chapter 13 plan, the debtors receive a discharge of most debts.

Unsecured Debt Unsecured debts include personal loans and credit cards issued by banks, such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover, and other credit cards used to purchase

consumable items such as clothing, food, vacations, etc. You may not file Chapter 13 if your unsecured debts exceed $360,475.00.

Bankruptcy Exemptions An important concept in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy is “exemptions” or “exempt property.” When you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the Trustee takes all of your “non-exempt” property and sells it for the benefit of your unsecured creditors. The Trustee cannot take your exempt property and you may keep all of your exempt property regardless of its value and amount. What property is “exempt” and what property is “non-exempt” depends on the exemption laws of the applicable state. Each state has its own specific laws about what assets are exempt and non-exempt for bankruptcy purposes. Therefore, before you file bankruptcy you and your bankruptcy attorney must ascertain which state laws will determine your exempt assets.

Which State Exemptions Apply Under the new bankruptcy law the state exemption law applicable to your bankruptcy is determined by the state in which you have been domiciled for the 730 days (two years) immediately preceding your filing date. If you have not been a permanent resident of Florida for the two-

year period immediately preceding your bankruptcy, then your bankruptcy exemptions will be those allowed by the state in which you were domiciled for 180 days immediately preceding the two year period, or the state in which you were domiciled for the longer portion of such 180-day period.

Florida Exemptions Florida has liberal bankruptcy exemptions for some assets, including an

unlimited homestead exemption in most cases, and limited exemptions for other assets. Only Florida residents are eligible for Florida exemptions. Just because you are a Florida resident when you file for bankruptcy does not mean you are entitled to Florida exemptions in bankruptcy.

Homestead Homestead is exempt property under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution. Homestead property cannot exceed half acre in municipality or 160 acres outside a municipality. The new bankruptcy law does change the homestead exemption for Florida residents who file bankruptcy. Under the new law you can protect unlimited equity in your homestead provided you purchased the residence 40 months or more prior to filing bankruptcy. If you purchased your home within 40 months the new law exempts up to $137,000 of equity. Additionally, if you injected cash in your home within the 40 months, such as by paying down the mortgage or building a home addition, the amount of investment made within the 40 months will not be exempt even if you purchased the home 40 months prior to filing.

Statutory Exemptions Chapter 222 of the Florida Statutes includes several categories of exempt property, including: pensions, 401K plans, tax deferred retirement plans, Social Security income, disability income, IRAs, annuities, cash value of life insurance, college investment plans (including 529 Plans), health savings accounts, and hurricane savings accounts. Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs are exempt up to $1,095,000 per person.

Automobile Exemption You are allowed to exempt $1,000 of equity in an automobile. Spouses who jointly own a car may exempt $2,000 of value in that car. Most bankruptcy trustees accept the average retail/wholesale value from the yellow NADA book, adjusted for the condition of your car. If the balance of your car loan is greater than the car value (“upside down”) then you have no car equity and your car is protected in bankruptcy so long as you keep your car payments current

Property Exemption Each bankruptcy debtor is allowed to exempt $1,000 ($2,000 for joint filings) of all other personal property including furniture, cloths, tools, and estimated cash on hand. For bankruptcy purposes the value of your personal property is its current fair market value at a public market such as a garage sale or flea market sale. A new Florida statute effective July 1, 2007, provides an additional $4,000 "wildcard" exemption to bankruptcy debtors who do not claim a homestead exemption. This extra $4000.00, or $8000.00 if file jointly, can be applied to any non-exempt property. You must not own a home or intend to surrender the home you do own to the mortgage lender in order to qualify for the wildcard exemption. Joint debtors can claim a $8,000 wildcard exemption. After the bankruptcy is filed, there will be a meeting of creditors that all debtors must attend. At this creditor meeting the debtor will meet the bankruptcy trustee. The trustee has 30 days following your meeting to object to your exemptions. If you claim an asset as exempt on your bankruptcy petition and there is no objection within 30 days after your trustee meeting you may assume the asset is exempt and you may do whatever you want with that asset.

Secured Debt Secured debts include those debts where the creditor has a security interest in your property to guarantee payment. Examples of secured debts include mortgages, car loans, loans from finance companies (usually secured by household items). If you purchased store

goods using a store credit card, such as a card from, Rooms to Go, Best Buy, etc., the store probably has a security interest in certain items purchased, which makes the store a secured creditor. You may not file Chapter 13 if your secured debts exceed $1,081,400.00.