Miami Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

Sometimes I have potential clients who have had friends or family members that have previously filed for bankruptcy and that family member or friend may have had a good/bad experience with their bankruptcy trustee.  So the potential client will ask me if it is possible to know who your bankruptcy trustee will be prior to filing your case?  The answer depends on what type of bankruptcy you file.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Broward, Dade or Palm Beach county you will automatically be assigned a bankruptcy trustee at random.  So there is no way of knowing who your bankruptcy trustee will be until the actual case is filed.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

There is only one standing Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee for Broward and Palm Beach County and there is only one standing Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee for Miami-Dade County.   So in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy you will be able to know who the trustee is prior to your bankruptcy filing.

If you are thinking if filing for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in South Florida and you would like to speak with a local bankruptcy attorney  then please contact Ofer Shmucher at Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559.  We offer free consultations in our main Miami Office or any of our satellite offices (by appointment) including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation and Sunrise Florida.

If you do a quick search for bankruptcy attorney in South Florida on Google you will find dozens of firms saying they are experienced in bankruptcy law.  If you decide to call and schedule an appointment with one of them, here are some questions to ask them when you meet them:

How much of the firm’s work is bankruptcy law? 

If you see a website of a law firm that says they practice bankruptcy, family law, probate, personal injury, criminal, immigration, etc. etc. then you really should know that the bankruptcy practice of the firm is probably very limited.  Ask how many cases the attorney has filed (monthly, yearly, lifetime), you may see a firm say they have 30 years of experience but if they only do 1 or 2 bankruptcy cases a year their 30 years of experience is really worthless.

Who is going to handle my case?

You may walk into a firm and meet attorney X and if you sign with that firm you may never see that attorney again, perhaps the majority of the work in your case and your communication might be only with a paralegal or secretary.  If you are paying thousands of dollars to file for bankruptcy, then I suggest you actually meet and communicate with the bankruptcy attorney rather than his or her staff.

Do I even need to file for bankruptcy?  

Ask an attorney if bankruptcy is right for you, it may not necessarily be.  You may be able to negotiate a settlement with your debts,  do a short-sale or a deed in lieu and keep yourself out of bankruptcy entirely.  Have the attorney explain the differences between the bankruptcy options available to you as well as the non-bankruptcy options.

How will bankruptcy affect me in a negative way?

Make sure that the attorney goes over with you the consequences that are incurred when one files for bankruptcy.  If an attorney informs you that there are no consequences then you should run away.  Furthermore an attorney should explain the process of rebuilding your credit after filing for bankruptcy.

How will bankruptcy affect me in a positive way?

Ask the attorney what benefits you will be receiving if you file for bankruptcy.  Make sure the attorney can tell you which debts will be wiped out in the bankruptcy and which debts (if any) will survive.

How much do you charge?

The first question that any debtor will ask a bankruptcy attorney is how much they charge to file for bankruptcy in Florida.  Typically a Chapter 7 bankruptcy will run between $1500-$2000 for non-complicated cases.  Be very weary of attorneys who advertise a very low price as they are just trying to get people in the door and/or their advertised price doesn’t include things such as the filing fee $300, credit report fee, reaffirmations, or numerous other miscellaneous charges that an attorney can add.

Will you be attending the court hearing with me and will you prepare me?

Every debtor in a bankruptcy case needs to attend bankruptcy court one time for a short hearing called a meeting of the creditors.  The debtor will be accompanied by a bankruptcy attorney who will be there to assist them in answering questions.  Some firms send a designated person to court with you, and chances are it will be a person you have not met and maybe even someone who is not familiar with your case.  Furthermore ask the attorney how they will proceed in preparing you for the hearing.  Some firms will just file your case and meet you at the hearing, without preparing you in any way.

Remember that just because you had a free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney doesn’t mean you need to sign a retainer agreement with them on the same visit.  You may want to visit more than one bankruptcy attorney to see how the answer the questions listed above, maybe you communicate better with one than the others.  Remember the filing of a bankruptcy is a decision that should be made after careful consideration and professional advice.  Never make the decision to hire a bankruptcy lawyer strictly because their price is lower than another attorney.  You will usually get what you pay for.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to schedule a free consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney then please contact Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559.  We offer free consultations in any of our office locations including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

When people have personal injury lawsuits they tend to take quite some time before they actually receive any money.  During that time period where the personal injury lawsuit is pending a person may consider filing for bankruptcy.  A question I receive from potential clients is whether or not they can file for bankruptcy while they have a pending personal injury lawsuit.  The answer is YES a person can file a bankruptcy while they have a pending personal injury lawsuit, but the more important question to ask is WHETHER they should file for bankruptcy with a pending personal injury lawsuit.

In the world of bankruptcy a personal injury lawsuit is considered an asset and in some cases it is a very lucrative asset.  A debtor, when filing for bankruptcy, must exempt the assets they want to keep and under Florida law there is NO exemption for a personal injury lawsuit.  A debtor may use the wildcard exemption or the $1,000 personal property exemption on the lawsuit but likely the debtor may not be able to cover much of the personal injury claim.  SO what happens if you have a lucrative personal injury claim and you file for bankruptcy?  In most cases you will transfer your rights in the personal injury lawsuit to the bankruptcy trustee and upon receiving any monies from the lawsuit, the monies will be used to pay off your debt.

If you have a pending personal injury lawsuit and are thinking of filing for bankruptcy then I suggest you meet with a qualified bankruptcy lawyer to determine how bankruptcy would affect your claim.  If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Shmucher Law, PL then call 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559.  We offer consultations in any of our office locations including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

If you are in a situation where you are looking to file for bankruptcy then you probably were going through some difficult times when you needed money.  The first place any person looks to get money is from family members.  Debtors routinely borrow money from family members to stay afloat in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy.   Sometime in the future the debtor may come across some money (tax return, bonus at work, etc) and the first thing they want to do with the money is payback the family members who lent them money.  This may seem to be the most rational way of thinking, in the bankruptcy world this is a bad idea.

The bankruptcy code attempts to treat all creditors on the same level, which basically means the money you borrowed from your aunt is treated the same as the money you owe on your credit card.  When you choose to pay your aunt back the money you owe her, but not to pay the credit card you owe you are PREFERING your aunt over your other debts.

So what happens if you file for bankruptcy and you paid a family member back money?  The bankrupt cy court can look back 12 months to see how much money you paid your family members.  The court will then likely sue the family member for the amount of money they received because it was considered a PREFERENCE.

Example:  If you paid your aunt $2,000 a few months before you filed for bankruptcy then she will likely be sued to return the $2,000 prior to the bankruptcy.

Don’t let the fact that there may be a preference suit prevent you from filing for bankruptcy, if you or a relative has to return a few thousand dollars in exchange for discharging tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt may be a trade that a debtor is willing to make.

Make sure to inform your bankruptcy attorney of ANY PAYMENTS YOU MADE TO FAMILY members during your initial consultation.  If you haven’t made any payments to family members then don’t pay them until after your bankruptcy case is over.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to schedule a free consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney then please contact Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559.  We offer free consultations in any of our office locations, including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

If you have already met a bankruptcy attorney or are planning on meeting one you can expect the attorney to use the word equity multiple times during your consultation.  Unfortunately most bankruptcy lawyers assume that you already know what the term means and how it applies, this is probably not the case.

Equity is one of the most important factors that a debtor must consider if they are thinking of filing for bankruptcy.  If you have too much equity then you may lose your probably or have to pay back the equity amount to keep your property.  So what does equity really mean?

Equity is basically a math formula, it is the difference between what the market value is (on the current item) and how much is owed (on the same item).    Market value is how much you could get for it if you sold it.  For vehicles market value is easy to determine because you just look at NADA Values, Blue Book values or Black Book values.    Here is an example of equity in a vehicle:

Market Value = $14,000

Outstanding Loan amount  = $7,000

Equity = Market Value ($14,000) minus Owed Amount ($7,000)

Equity = $7,000

The same formula would be applied to houses, transportation, land or anything of value.

Here is another example where there is NO EQUITY in a vehicle:

Market Value = $14,000

Outstanding Loan amount = $17,000

Equity = Market Value ($14,000) minus Owed Amount ($17,000)

Equity = -$7,000  (negative)

If you have an asset that has zero or negative equity then it is worthless in the bankruptcy world.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to schedule a free consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney  then please contact Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559.  We offer free consultations in any of our office locations including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida

If a creditor has filed a lawsuit against you and obtained a judgment then they can attempt to collect on the debt by doing a number of things including, wage garnishments, freezing bank accounts, or levying property.  I was recently asked by a client if it is too late to file for bankruptcy once a creditor has frozen your bank account?  The answer to that question is NO,  a debtor can still file for bankruptcy once their account has been frozen.  Furthermore the filing of the bankruptcy will UNFREEZE the bank account and likely give the debtor his or her bank account once again.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy, then the first thing you should do is go see a local bankruptcy attorney to determine your eligibility, options, and consequences of filing.  If you live in south Florida then please contact Shmucher Law, PL at 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559 to schedule a free consultation.  We offer consultations in our main office in Miami as well as our satellite bankruptcy  offices including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

This is a common question that is asked by people who are looking to file for bankruptcy in Florida.  Their main concern is that their friend/relative/neighbor/etc. co-signed on a debt that the client will be discharging in bankruptcy.  So they will always ask, will my co-signer be liable for the debts that I am discharging in bankruptcy?  The answer is Yes, the bankruptcy will only discharge the personal liability of the person who files, not co-signers, whose obligations remain.  What does this mean for the person who is filing, not much because they will likely be able to discharge their debts through the bankruptcy, however their bankruptcy will likely have an adverse effect on the co-signer.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to schedule a free consultation with a local bankruptcy lawyer then please  contact Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559.  We offer free one hour consultations in any of our office locations including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

Some people are ashamed that they have filed for bankruptcy and want to keep it private, and so they ask me if there is anything they can do to keep their bankruptcy filing private.  Unfortunately the filing of a bankruptcy is a public filing and is a matter of public record.

What is a public record? 

A public record is any information that is maintained by a government agency.   When a bankruptcy case is filed it is assigned a district in the United States Bankruptcy Court.  For clients filing in the Broward, Dade, or Palm Beach Counties the district is the Southern District of Florida.   While most of your bankruptcy petition is available as a public record, information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, or any sensitive information will not be made public.

Will family members find out that you filed for bankruptcy?

More likely than not, your family members will not find out that you have filed for bankruptcy UNLESS you owed them money and listed them on your bankruptcy petition.    Family members that you owe money to must be listed on your bankruptcy petition and they will receive notice

Will my bankruptcy filing be reported in the newspaper?

Depending on the district where you file your case, there is a chance that your bankruptcy case may be published in a local newspaper.  Published in the local newspaper basically means that it will display Jones, Tom case: 11-49944 Southern District of Florida.   If you file for bankruptcy in the Southern District of Florida then your filing will be reported in the Daily Business Review public records section.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to speak with a local bankruptcy lawyer then please contact Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559.  We offer free consultations in our main Miami office, as well as at any of our satellite offices (by appointment) including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy in Florida and you own real estate then you will need to know the value of the real estate to determine what, if any, equity you have in your properties.  The easiest way to determine the value of your home is to look at the property appraiser website for the county you live in.  Each year your home is appraised for tax purposes by the property appraiser, so when you go to the website, look for the corresponding year and valuation for the property.  Alternatively you could go www.zillow.com and type in your address for another valuation based on comparable real estate sales in your area.  Finally, and probably the most effective way to value real estate is to get a true appraisal of the property by hiring a licensed appraiser to come out to your property to review it and value it accordingly.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to schedule a free consultation with a local bankruptcy lawyer, then please contact Ofer Shmucher at Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305-741-5553 or 954-309-5559.  We offer free consultations in our main office in Miami or in any of our satellite offices (by appointment) including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.

Some of my clients have recently asked me if they can include their 401k loans into the bankruptcy. Typically clients dip into their 401k as a last resort, in an attempt to pay off debts they owe, but they fail to realize the consequences of doing so. Unfortunately the filing of a bankruptcy, whether chapter 7 or chapter 13, in Florida will have no affect on your 401k loan and you will still be required to pay for them.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy in South Florida and would like to schedule a free consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney then please contact Ofer Shmucher at Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559. We offer free consultation in any of our office locations including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.