Miami Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

Routinely I get asked questions regarding medical bills, especially if they can be included in the filing of a bankruptcy in Florida.  The answer is ABSOLUTELY, when you file for bankruptcy you want to be able to have a fresh start, i.e.  have no debts left when your bankruptcy is over.  The only way to have a fresh start is to list all of your debt on your bankruptcy petition.  When preparing to file your bankruptcy your bankruptcy lawyer, Ofer Shmucher, will run your credit using all three credit bureaus.  The credit report data will be automatically imported into your bankruptcy schedules (the paperwork you file with the court).  However sometimes your credit report will not provide a 100% accurate display of all your debts, especially medical bills.  Therefore it is useful for you to provide copies of all your medical bills to your bankruptcy lawyer so that we can include all your debts in your bankruptcy petition.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to schedule a free consultation with a Miami bankruptcy lawyer then please give Ofer Shmucher at Shmucher Law, PL a call at 954.309.5559.  We offer free initial consultations in any of our five offices in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

If you have had a judgment against you then the judgment creditor may be able to freeze your bank account to collect on the money you owe them.  A creditor may be able to freeze your account up to two times the amount that you owe them.  Once your account is frozen you will not be able to use the money, and any additional money you deposit into that account will also be frozen.

The filing of a bankruptcy in Florida, either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13, will instantly cause the automatic stay to come into effect.  Once the automatic stay is in effect your creditors cannot call you nor can they take any measures to collect their debts, including suing, wage garnishments, or freezing your bank accounts.  If your bank account was frozen prior to the bankruptcy filing, it can be unfrozen by the filing of a bankruptcy in Florida.

If you live in South Florida and had your bank account frozen or your wages garnished, we can help.  Contact Shmucher Law, PL  and bankruptcy lawyer Ofer Shmucher to schedule a free consultation in one of our five office locations, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

When filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida the first think that an attorney looks at is the debtors income.  There are two ways to qualify for a Chapter 7, first the debtor must be under the median income (auto qualify), if the debtor is over the median income then the debtor must pass the means test.  While the debtors income is a critical part in determining their qualification for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there is no maximum income that the debtor can have to qualify.

Besides the debtor’s income, the means test considers other factors that enable parties to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.   Debtors who have high income can qualify if they have any of the following:

1. Large family size and or other dependents (parents / grandparents that they claim on their taxes)
2. Large mortgage payments
3. Large homeowner/condo association dues
4. Car loans – two or more cars with payments or leased
5. High health insurance payments
6. High life insurance payments
7. Child care payments
8. Student tuition payments
9. Large IRS debt with a prepaid payment plan.

If a high income debtor has more than a few of the factors above then the debtor will have a good chance of qualifying for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy in Florida and would like to schedule a free consultation in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation or Sunrise Florida then give our office a call at 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5553.

My clients often tell me that they are scared to go before a judge.    The good news is that most consumer/debtor’s who file for bankruptcy in Florida will likely never have to go before or see a judge at all.

Chapter 7 – If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in South Florida you will be asked questions by a Bankruptcy Trustee in a 341 meeting of the creditors.  This meeting is fairly casual and usually only takes a few minutes.    A debtor will almost never see a judge unless there is a dispute or a motion has been filed that requires the debtor to appear and testify.

Chapter 13 – If you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in South Florida you, again, will be asked questions by a Bankruptcy Trustee in a 341 meeting of the creditors.   If the chapter 13 is done correctly then the debtor will likely not ever have to appear before a judge.

Reasons that you will have to go before a judge – If you fail to cooperate with the bankruptcy trustee, by failing to provide documentation or any other type of information then a visit with a bankruptcy judge will be very likely.

If you are thinking about filing a Chapter 7, 11, or 13 bankruptcy in South Florida and would like to schedule a free consultation with Shmucher Law, PL and bankruptcy lawyer Ofer Shmucher then please give our office a call at 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5553.

In order to qualify for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Florida the debtor must be an individual(s).  A corporation may not file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Florida.  Furthermore the debtor must have a regular source of income and they must meet the debt requirements.   A debtor’s secured debt must not exceed $1,010,650 and their unsecured debt must be less than $336,900.

If you are interested in filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Florida and would like a free consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer then please call Shmucher Law, PL at 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5559.   Shmucher Law, is a bankruptcy law firm handling Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies with offices in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a type of bankruptcy  filing that an individual who has regular income  can choose to file.  The main difference between a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition is that a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition requires a repayment plan between three and five years.  Additionally in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy a debtor is allowed to keep all their assets without the court liquidating them. 

During the course of the three to five year plan a debtor can play catch up on their mortgage payments, hoa payments, and car payments.  Also in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy , in Florida,  a debtor’s debts will be consolidated so that they will only be required to make one monthly payment for those debts.

Debtors who don’t have a mortgage or are not behind on their mortgage can consolidate their unsecured debt so as to make one monthly payment on their debt for the period of the plan.  Typically the monthly payment will be only a small percentage of what the debt is.

If you are thinking about filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in South Florida and would like to speak with a bankruptcy lawyer then please give Shmucher Law, PL a call at 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5553.  Our offices are conveniently located in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Miami and Sunrise Florida.

There are many reasons on deciding when to file the bankruptcy one of the most important factors is the timing of the filing.  As a bankruptcy attorney it is my expertise to assist a client on when to file.  Below are reasons to either speed up and file immediately or delay your filing to a later date.

Reasons to delay filing for bankruptcy in Florida:

You recently lost your job – When filing for bankruptcy you must use your last six months income to determine whether or not you qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy.  If you are recently unemployed then it might be a good idea to wait a few months and decrease the income that determines whether or not you qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida.

You have made a preferential payment – If you have made a preferential payment to a creditor over the last 90 days you may want to delay your filing until the 91^st day beyond the preferential payment.

Credit card usage – If you have made luxury purchases on your credit cards within the last 90 days, or if you have take cash advances within the 70 days prior to filing for bankruptcy you may want to wait till those time periods are over or those debts will not be dischargeable.

Your bankruptcy case has been previously dismissed – Usually if a bankruptcy has been dismissed you must wait 180 days to file again.

You want to discharge taxes in a bankruptcy -  Some taxes can be discharged but a debtor must wait approximately three years after the taxes were due.

Reasons to Speed up your bankruptcy filing in Florida:

You are being sued /garnished/bank accounts frozen – if you have been sued, had your wages garnished or your bank accounts have been frozen then the filing of the bankruptcy could undue or remove these consequences.

Your foreclosure sale is coming up – if you file prior to your foreclosure sale then you are temporarily protected by the automatic stay.  This strategy could allow you to remain in the home for an extended period of time.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to have a free consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer then please give Ofer Shmucher from Shmucher Law, PL a call.  We offer free consultations in any of our South Florida offices including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

People tend to borrow money friend friends and family prior to filing for bankruptcy, usually in an effort to avoid filing for bankruptcy.  However, when the person finally decides to file bankruptcy they want to make good, and payback that relative for the monies borrowed.  Is this a good idea?  Absolutely not.

With limited exceptions, DO NOT payback personal loans prior to filing for bankruptcy.  Why?  The paying back of a personal loan triggers two different potential actions in your bankruptcy case, a preference and a fraudulent transfer.

A preference is a payment to a preferred creditor in a certain period prior to filing bankruptcy.  For Creditors that are deemed to be insiders (relative or business partner) the look back period is one year.

For creditors that are non-insiders the look back is 90 days.

Here is a brief explanation of a preference.  You owe mom and dad $3,000, Visa $20,000, and Amex $30,000.  Prior to the filing of your bankruptcy you choose to pay mom and dad back entirely and don’t pay anything to Visa or Amex.  Here you are “PREFERRING” to pay your parents rather than your other unsecured creditors.

If the trustee, in your bankruptcy, sees that there is a preferential payment he or she will likely bring an action, to recover the money, against the party who received it.  In the example above, more likely than not mom and dad would receive a letter and or a lawsuit informing them that they need to return the monies they received from you.

The more serious issue can arise when you pay money to a relative, friend, or immediate family member.  This is called a fraudulent transfer.  A fraudulent transfer is a transfer that you make, prior to filing for bankruptcy, in which you tend to shield your money away from creditors.   If a debtor is found to have made a fraudulent transfer their bankruptcy discharge can be denied.

Please feel free to contact bankruptcy lawyer Ofer Shmucher to review your situation.  Shmucher Law, PL offers free consultations in any of our South Florida office locations including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

On November 1, 2010 the United States Trustees Office revised the median income figures for Florida households.  These new figures will apply to Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases filed on or after November 1, 2010.

Below are the numbers for median income in Florida Post November 1, 2010:

1 earner -  $39,393 annually or $3,282 monthly.

2 people – $49,321 annually or $4,110 monthly.

3 people - $53,713 annually or $4,476 monthly.

4 people - $64,084 annually or $5,340 monthly.

5 people – $71,584 annually or $5,965 monthly.

6 people – $79,084 annually or $6,590 monthly.

The numbers above reflect GROSS INCOME or income before taxes and deductions.  If your numbers are higher than the median income then there is still hope that you can qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, however it will involve looking at your expenses in the means test.

If you are thinking of filing Chapter 7, Chapter 13, or Chapter 11 bankruptcy in South Florida (Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, Sunrise) then please give Shmucher Law, PL a call at 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5553 in order to schedule a free initial consultation.

If you have decided it is time to see a bankruptcy attorney and you have already scheduled your first appointment, then you will need to gather some documents to bring to your consultation.  The following is a list of documents that you should bring:

1. Your paystubs – You should try to find the last six months of paystubs from your employer and bring them to the consultation.  The paystubs are used to determine your qualification for different types of bankruptcies.  If you are self-employed then you will need to provide how much money you have distributed to yourself over the same period of time.
2. Your bank statements – You should try to bring the last six months of your bank statement(s) to your initial consultation.  This applies for any type of bank or investment account that you have.  The monies and types of accounts will help determine whether or not the assets are partially, entirely, or not exempt from the bankruptcy court.  Also reviewing the bank documents will help determine whether or not the debtor has to worry about any fraudulent transfer or preferences.
3. Your Tax returns – In order to file for bankruptcy we require the last two years of tax returns you have filed.  Some trustees will require the debtor to provide upwards of five (5) years of tax returns.
4. Vehicle information – Providing copies of your registration, title, and proof of insurance is again helpful to determine whether or not the vehicle you own is exempt partially, entirely, or not at all.
5. Debts – typically most debts can be obtained through a credit report, however debts from small medical offices, payday loans, or other small entities may not show up on a credit report.  You don’t need to bring in a list of all your credit card debt.
6. Assets – Providing a list of any other assets you own would be extremely helpful and used to determine which bankruptcy chapter is right for you.  Assets can include anything from household goods, stocks, boats, paintings, or jewelry.

The non-exhaustive list above provides the debtor a head start for their initial consultation.  The documents will be very helpful for any attorney to easily determine the right path for the debtor.  If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Shmucher Law, PL in any of our Florida office locations then please give us a call at 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5553.