Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

In Jacksonville, Florida, a creditor such as a credit card company cannot garnish your wages without a court order. The company must go to court and obtain a "writ of garnishment" before they even have authority to garnish your wages. They may then contact your employer, who will be required to comply with the court order and garnish a portion of your wages in order to pay your creditor(s). Further, a creditor can obtain a writ of garnishment that lasts until the judgment is satisfied, or until otherwise provided by court order.

Wage garnishment is generally considered a "last resort" in Florida, as it is difficult for the garnishee to continue paying bills and putting food on the table. If you are in such a situation, you should call a qualified Jacksonville Bankrupcty Attorney to discuss your options. There are often ways to legally stop a garnishment that is going to or already in place.

Yes, a creditor can freeze or take money out of your bank account if they have a judgment against you from the court. (If your delinquent debt is for unpaid taxes or child support, sometimes the creditor can take out money from your bank account without a judgment.) If you have a joint account and the other person on your account has the judgment, the creditor can also seize the funds from your account. It is up to you to prove at a hearing that these funds taken from the account are yours, and not the joint account holders. A Jacksonville attorney can help you do this properly.

A creditor can take this money from your account with no warning in most cases. They must notify you in writing the next day that they have taken the money, but by that time the damage is already done. Your bank must also notify you after the funds are taken.

A Jacksonville consumer law attorney can quite possibly get this money back for you, however. Oftentimes certain money is exempt from the creditor's grasp, but you must have a hearing to prove it. Social security income and veterans benefits income are exempt from being taken. Also, certain retirement income and disability income are exempt. There is other exempt monies as well. Contact our Jacksonville lawyer today to see if the money taken from your account is exempt and learn how our legal team can help you get it back.

In Jacksonville when someone files for bankruptcy, they must attend a 341 Meeting of Creditors. This is a meeting at the federal courthouse where the creditors in your Florida bankruptcy case get a chance to show up and speak regarding their claims in your case. Most of the time, creditors do not show up to the meeting, and it is just you, your Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney, and the trustee. In Jacksonville the trustee will ask you questions regarding your case.

Some sample questions include: Does anyone owe you money? Do you expect to inherit any property in the next six months? Do your bankruptcy schedules list all of your personal property? Have you previously filed for bankruptcy? What is the address of your current employer? Do you have any domestic support obligations? The trustee will also ask to see your driver's license and social security card.

Though it can seem intimidating, the 341 meeting of creditors is not all that bad if you and your Jacksonville Bankrupcty lawyer property prepare for the meeting. The total time you will be talking with the trustee is approximately 5-10 minutes. If you are nervous, get to the courthouse before your scheduled time and watch some of the 341's before yours. You are allowed to do this. That will give you an idea of what to expect and will calm your nerves a bit. If there were to be any problems with your case, your Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney would know how to handle it and can work out almost any problem with the trustee. Contact us today at 904-685-1200 for your free bankruptcy consultation.

First let me say that you should contact a Jacksonville consumer law attorney before the creditor gets a judgment against you. Only by addressing the complaint or lawsuit timely do you have a chance to avoid a judgment.

If a judgment has already been entered against you, a Jacksonville attorney may still be able to help you from getting your wages garnished. There are laws regarding what monies may be garnished and from whom. For example, the wages of the head of a family cannot be garnished unless that person's net wages are more than $500 per week AND that person has agreed in writing to allow their wages to be garnished. Someone is a "head of the family" if they reside in Florida and provide more than one-half of the support of a dependent. If you do not qualify as a head of the family, you still might have protection against wage garnishment. Contact a Jacksonville attorney who specialized in wage garnishment today if you might be at risk of wage garnishment to protect your rights.

An attempt to pass a law that would allow Bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages never made it passed the Senate. So a judge cannot automatically modify the terms of your existing mortgage. However, filing bankruptcy in Florida can help in other ways.

First, if you are behind on payments, filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to catch up the arrearages over time so you are no longer in default. Second, filing bankruptcy oftentimes serves as a strong negotiation point with lenders. Lenders might be willing to work with you more if they know that there is a strong possibility that you might just walk away from the house if they do not work with you. Third, your Orange Park bankruptcy attorney can file a motion within your bankruptcy proceeding to require your mortgage company into mediation with you. So the judge cannot automatically change the terms of your mortgage, but s/he can order your mortgage company into mortgage modification mediation with you. Finally, if your home is in foreclosure, filing bankruptcy will halt the foreclosure proceedings. The automatic stay will go into effect immediately and all activity in the foreclosure case will cease.

To see if filing for bankruptcy is in your best interest, contact an Orange Park bankruptcy attorney today to discuss the particulars of your situation.

In many countries around the world, if you cannot pay your debt, you can be thrown in jail. The United States is not one of those countries. In the U.S., you cannot be thrown in jail for defaulting on your financial obligations. (An exception is child support obligations or when you are ordered to do so by a court- you are not actaully put in jail for failing to pay the debt, but for being in contempt of court for not following the judges order)

A creditor can, however, take you to court and get a judgment against you. It is very important if a creditor files suit against you to contact a Florida Bankrupcty attorney to discuss your case. If you do not properly and timely answer the creditor's complaint, the creditor can get a default judgment against you, even if you dispute the validity of the debt. After getting a default against you, the creditor may be able to garnish your pay. A Jacksonville consumer law attorney can help you defend your suit and even negotiate with the creditor. Call 904-685-1200 today for a free consultation.

When you file for bankruptcy in Jacksonville or Florida, an automatic stay goes into effect immediately. (Unless there has been aprevious bankruptcy, then you have to ask the Judge for one). This halts virtually all legal actions and collection actions against you or if they continue and a stay in in place they can be undone in most cases. This can really bring relief to those with creditors calling all day long. This also means that any foreclosure or garnishment action is halted, and a creditor cannot repossess your car, or the court cannot sell your home. So if you are behind on payments and think your collateral may be subject to repossession, a Florida bankruptcy can help to protect your assets while you figure out your next step.

If you think that getting a fresh start by filing for bankruptcy might help your situation, contact a Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney today at 904-685-1200 to assess your needs.

A Florida homestead exemption dictates how much of the equity in your home you may keep away from creditors. This means that any equity you have above that amount must be paid to creditors. The federal homestead exemption amount is $21,165.00. The Florida homestead exemption amount is unlimited under certain circumstances. This means that in Florida, you can have any amount of equity in your home and your creditors cannot take it. This is great news for those in the Jacksonville area who are overwhelmed by their debt and are needing to file for bankruptcy. Contact a Orange Park attorney today to discuss how to keep your home by filing for bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy was meant as a legal tool used to get people a fresh start when they are too deep in debt. If you are currently facing debts and your creditors are bearing down on you, filing bankruptcy could provide some immediate relief. For example, if your credit card company is threatening to sue you for past-due payment or the bank is foreclosing on your home, a filing of bankruptcy will automatically place a "stay" on your creditors from collecting the debt for a period of time. During this time, your creditors cannot take action against you to recover this debt unless they petition the court and the court grants them permission -- not a common outcome. If you are thinking about filing bankruptcy, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today to find out your options for your specific situation.

Exemptions dictate what property of yours that you may keep when you file bankruptcy. Most people are surprised to learn that in most cases, the exemptions used in bankruptcy come from state law, not federal law. This is because states are allowed to opt-out of federal law exemptions and make up their own. Florida has done this. There are residency requirements however, to be able to use Florida's exemptions. Just because you are a resident of Florida when you file for bankruptcy does not mean that you can use Florida's exemptions. The law dictates that your bankruptcy exemptions are determined by the state in which you have been domiciled for the 730 days prior to filing your case. If you have lived in multiple states during this time, figuring out what state's exemption laws apply to you can be tricky. A Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney will be able to help do this correctly. If you do not get your exemptions right, the trustee will object in your case.

Over the past several years the Apple Law Firm has expanded into several additional practice areas. As these practice areas grown we have been adding staff and creating more informational blogs to help consumers and our clients understand some of the common legal issues. May of our current readers do not realize that we cover these additional practice areas so I wanted to take a moment to update you with them:

For those of you who use an iPhone, we are trying to make some of the information and resources available through our new Apple Law Firm PLLC iPhone Application.

Our main Website is for the Apple Law Firm PLLC

The Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog covers a variety of topics focusing on Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Elder Law, Guardianship, and Probate

The NFA Gun Trust Lawyer® Blog covers unique issues involved with estate planning, the purchase, possession, use, and transfer of firearms including those regulated by the National Firearms Act. Helps provide guidance on a National level through a network of over 150 lawyers in 43 states.

The Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyers Blog covers issues related to criminal defense, case-law updates, and legislative changes as they relate to protecting your rights from restrictions by the State of Florida dealing with your freedom.

The Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog covers issues in Florida and around the country that help homeowners protect their home which is often their single biggest purchase. While we write on topics that have relevance to the entire state, our practice area focuses on the counties surrounding Duval or the City of Jacksonville and its surrounding area.

The Jacksonville DIvorce Attorney Blog covers topics relating to your family life, marriage, divorce, child custody, support and guardianship. Many of the articles help our clients to understand what can happen in these very emotional times and how slight differences in the circumstances can make a significant difference.

The Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer Blog covers issues relating to injury and compensation for the negligence of others. This is our newest blog and will be launching in the next few weeks.

The Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyers Blog covers topics related to bankruptcy and specific circumstances that may allow one to qualify for certain exemptions and benefits afforded under the Federal bankruptcy Code.

We hope you enjoy our postings and take the time to visit some of out other blogs that cover different Florida legal issues as over 50,000 people a month do. If you have a question regarding one of these area or something involving a legal issues in Florida, please Contact us and one of the lawyers in that practice area will respond.

Four times each year, various agencies across the country conduct extensive surveys and collect data in order to get a snapshot of how the nation's economy looks. After the first quarter of 2011, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Bankruptcy Research Center are reporting good news: the number of filings in the first three months of 2011 dropped from this time last year.

There were 363,215 bankruptcy filings after the first quarter of 2010. After the first quarter of 2011, however, there were 340,012. That's a drop of 6%, which analysts see as a positive sign that the economy might be recovering - if only slightly.

However, others are pointing to the fact that credit is more difficult to come by, meaning people aren't as able to accumulate unmanageable debt and file for bankruptcy. Others speculate that the reduction is due to the backlog of foreclosures in Florida, which has allowed people to stay in their homes for longer than they otherwise would have. This allows them to avoid bankruptcy - at least for now. Whatever the case may be, the numbers are encouraging.

Nevertheless, the numbers are still higher than average and you may find yourself among the many making the difficult decision to file bankruptcy. If you are facing bankruptcy, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer to discuss your options and help you emerge with more manageable debts.

When someone files a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, they must repay some of their debts over a three to five year time period. These payments are dictated by a Plan that is filed with and confirmed by the court. The Plan is based on your income and your debts. If you get married two years into your Plan payments, the marriage might affect your bankruptcy. You might have to count the new income in your bankruptcy. Your new spouse will not be liable for your old debts and the bankruptcy will not appear on their credit report. However, your Plan payment amount might change.

Every circumstance is different. Contact a Clay County bankruptcy attorney today to determine if your upcoming nuptials will impact the amount you must pay your creditors through your Chapter 13 Plan.

As you're probably aware, an Individual Retirement Account, or IRA, is a type of savings account primarily used in preparing for retirement. Monetary contributions to traditional IRAs are tax-deductible, making them an attractive option for retirement.

As with most assets, IRAs are transferable to a named beneficiary upon death. When transferred, the IRA is referred to as an inherited Individual Retirement Account.

In bankruptcy, traditional IRAs are considered exempt under Florida law. This means that any assets you have in an IRA cannot be touched by your creditors. (As a caveat, you can typically contribute $5000 to $6000 per year to your IRA, depending on your age. So, you can't put all your assets into an IRA and then declare bankruptcy.) Under the old version of Florida law, only traditional IRAs were considered exempt; creditors could, in fact, go after inherited IRAs.

Under new law enacted in 2011, creditors cannot go after inherited IRAs. The new law essentially provides that an inherited IRA enjoys the same protection from creditors that the original IRA held. This is good news for estate planning purposes; now you can establish an IRA without worrying that a beneficiary might not be able to utilize the money in the account. Further, if you're thinking about bankruptcy, you may be relieved to know that an inherited IRA will be protected.

If you're thinking about filing bankruptcy, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy today. For more information on how to properly protect your assets, call a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer.