Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

Since Anthony was found not-guilty of first degree murder in 2008, she has been barraged by civil law suits. The most recent of these suits is brought by Mr. Roy Kronk. Kronk was a meter man who found the remains of Miss Anthony's daughter. Kronk is suing Miss Anthony for defamation of character, as her defense team alleged that Kronk himself murdered the child. Later it was alleged by Anthony that her daughter, Caylee had drown in the family pool.
Defamation is a false and defamatory statement about a plaintiff which is heard by a third party by the fault of a defendant. Some kind of damage must result. In this case, defendant Casey Anthony, through her lawyers, said that plaintiff Ray Kronk had murdered a child and this was heard by third parties across several news stations. It's likely that his reputation was damaged. it's likely that Kronk will win such a suit, unless Anthony's can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Kronk did in fact kill the child. That would mean that she committed perjury in saying that the daughter drowned in the pool, but she's already had perjury suits in the past.
Even if Anthony is found liable for the damages to Kronk, it is possible that she could file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and discharge the debt. Unlike debts to the government, debts to private citizens are almost always discharged. One of the few exceptions to discharge-ability falls under 11 U.S.C. § 523(6) which requires that a willful and malicious injury by the debtor occur to the plaintiff. The case of In re George out of Tampa, Florida holds that some defamation judgments are both willful and malicious. This case found that willful merely means that an act was intentional. Malicious, on the other hand, was not defined by this court as the previous court that found the defamation had declared the defamation malicious, instantly proving it as a matter of law for the In re George case. The ultimate question is whether Casey Anthony could benefit from a bankruptcy filing. The answer to this depends on whether Kronk can prove malice on the part of Anthony. Malice is often thought of as actions arising from, "evil intent". This poses an interesting question of what motivated Casey to accuse Kronk. Did she actually believe Kronk had murdered Caylee? No. She couldn't have if she knew Caylee had died in the swimming pool. But Casey didn't know Kronk, why would she want to frame him for a crime that she knew hadn't been committed?
A judge will have to determine these answers. If a state court judge finds that Caylee acted with malice when defaming Kronk, she will be unable to discharge this debt. However, if Caylee's gets Kronk to agree to a judgment of defamation without malice, she could probably file a Chapter 7 and discharge that debt.
If you have questions about the discharge-ability of a debt, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

Senate Bill 1813 will allow for the revocation of passports from anyone who owes more than $50,000 to the Internal Revenue Service. The Bill will Amend Sub-chapter D of Chapter 75 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to read:

``SEC. 7345. REVOCATION OR DENIAL OF PASSPORT IN CASE OF CERTAIN TAX
DELINQUENCIES.

``(a) In General.--If the Secretary receives certification by the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue that any individual has a seriously
delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000, the Secretary
shall transmit such certification to the Secretary of State for action
with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport
pursuant to section 4 of the Act entitled `An Act to regulate the issue
and validity of passports, and for other purposes', approved July 3,
1926 (22 U.S.C. 211a et seq.), commonly known as the `Passport Act of
1926'."

The Bill goes on to list a few exceptions to passport revocation such as if a deficiency has since been paid, for a pending hearing to determine the legitimacy of the debt or lastly in the case of joint filers who are no longer married or were subject to other separated, joint filing scenarios.
I don't believe that there is a large number of people emigrating for purposes of income tax-avoidance, but that's only because I've never heard or read of it being an issue. That being so, this appears to be more of a punitive provision, made to punish those who don't or can't pay their taxes by preventing them from vacationing or visiting friends or relatives abroad. This is similar in effect to the powers of the County Family Law Court to take driver's licenses away from non-child support paying parents.
Whether this bill passes or not, people who owe Federal Income Tax should know that under the right circumstances, income taxes can be discharged in a bankruptcy. The general caveats are that the taxes must be filed at least three years prior to the date of filing and that the assessment by the IRS needs to have occurred more than 240 days ago. I have been fortunate enough to do this, which requires service upon Eric Holder as the Attorney General.
If you have income tax debts that you wish to discharge, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

As both an attorney and a holder of a postgraduate degree I am often approached by people, clients and associates alike regarding an American's ability to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy. I have recently read, "The Student Loan Scam" and found it to be an enlightening, albeit depressing, read. The book outlines the history of the non-dischargability of student loan debts in bankruptcy from the early stages when it was discharged like any other debt to when it required a five year Chapter 13, then a seven year case and then finally being practically impossible to discharge in any scheme at all. Apparently, student loans have only held their practically non-dischargable status since the passage of the 1998 Higher Education Act.
In Canada, recent changes to their laws have permitted discharge of student loans which originated seven (7) years prior. Recently, I spoke to an attorney out of Calgary, Canada who informed me that while Canadian loans can be discharged within the seven year period and that any of my clients who might want to file in Canada would still be liable on their U.S. loans.
Student loan borrowers are not without alternatives. "The Student Loan Scam" gave gruesome examples of those who migrated form the U.S., went underground or even committed suicide as a result of their non-dischargable debt. About three years ago the "Income Based Repayment" program went into effect. This program allows those with state backed loans to pay only a percentage of their income toward their debt. This is on a graduated scale and allows a person making less than $15,000 to have no payment. After twenty-five (25) years of these payments, the remaining debt is discharged. Just last year, this twenty-five (25) year period was reduced to fifteen (15) years. In short, the ability to discharge student loans in the United States went from dischargable in bankruptcy, to dischargable in five years, then seven, then not at all, then twenty-five years and now fifteen. What length of time is appropriate? Who knows.
If you have questions about student loans and bankruptcy or the Income Based Repayment plan, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

The final adversary proceeding in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy of Teresa and Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice is now closed. An adversary proceeding may be thought of as "case with in a case". This adversary proceeding was filed by the United States Trustee seeking to deny the Giudices a discharge of their debts. The trustee's one-hundred-and-twenty-five allegations indicate what may be the true nature of a "Real" housewife and her husband.
Some of the allegations include:
1. Non-disclosure of any bank accounts, vehicles, copyrights or intellectual property.
2. They also disclosed their combined monthly income to be $3,250 for Joe and $3333.33 for Teresa (plus assistance of $10,000 per month from family members).
3. They failed to disclose ownership of 393 Lexington Ave., Clifton, NJ and 399 Lexington Ave., Clifton, NJ.
The Giudices both signed this petition under the penalty of perjury.
There are generally two reasons why you wouldn't disclose the truth: neglect or fraud. By not disclosing their personal property, they would be allowed to keep that property if the trustee or creditors did not object. By citing only about $79,000 in annual combined income, they'd probably qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in New Jersey, where the median income is very high (you must be under the median for Chapter 7). By not disclosing whole houses, they could potentially keep them if the trustee or creditors did not discover them. But the trustee did discover them and sent them a letter requesting documents relating to these items.
Within a month of the trustee's letter, the Giudices filed amended documents listing one of the pieces of real estate, four vehicles, a Maserati lease and three previously unlisted businesses. Teresa's reported income more than doubled.
It appears that the trustee wasn't satisfied with their answers and subjected the Giudices to a 2004 examination (similar to a deposition). Under oath, Teresa disclosed that she had a Lakeland Bank account, a previously undisclosed business and a previously undisclosed book deal for her now published book, "Skinny Italian." Her husband Joe disclosed that he had not actually filed taxes for 2006, 2007 or 2008 (although he'd provided the Trustee with copies of returns previously), disclosed another business and disclosed that he collects rent from two other commercial businesses.
Teresa's now disclosed bank account at Lakeland Bank showed $106,819.90 in deposits in the seven months leading up to their case filing and $192,620.90 during the three months AFTER the case filing. She also disclosed that she'd been paid $250,000 as an advance on her book.
Now, I must admit that these were all allegations and that none of them were specifically proven to be true. Pursuant to a consent agreement, Teresa was denied a discharge acknowledging "...her desire to resolve the Adversary Proceeding without the need for further inquiry or litigation, and without her making any further admissions..." her husband was also denied a discharge.
Bankruptcy fraud is a crime punishable by imprisonment and fines. When someone attempts to lie about their income hide assets in bankruptcy, it is an insult to everyone -those filing bankruptcy themselves and those who can and do pay their creditors. When an attempt to defraud occurs at this magnitude, I think that only imprisonment should follow. These two should be investigated thoroughly and if these allegations are true, they should go to jail for their crimes.
The Giudice's bankruptcy case remains open.

If you want to reaffirm a debt after filing for bankruptcy, your must executed a new agreement with your creditor. This reaffirmation agreement must be written and must be signed by both you and the creditor. Should you sign this reaffirmation agreement? Here are some pros and cons.

Pros
First, if you want to keep the property, you must sign the reaffirmation agreement. Also, if you do sign, you will be certain what your payments will be, what your interest rate is, etc. Signing a reaffirmation agreement may also help rebuild your credit, since you are taking responsibility for a pre-filing debt and are making regular payments on a debt.

If the collateral is something other than a car, say furniture or electronics, then you may be able to negotiate a lesser amount due before signing the agreement. This is because the alternative to reaffirmation for the creditor is to repossess and auction off the property -something that costs the creditor money. Sometimes creditors would rather renegotiate your contract than to go through this hassle.

Cons
By signing the reaffirmation agreement, you are stating that you are now going to be responsible for the debt again. So if you cannot pay in the future and default, you no longer have the remedy or protection of bankruptcy available to you (unless you file again). If you default, a creditor may be able to garnish your wages to cover your debt.

If you have a debt for which you would like to reaffirm, or have any other consumer law issue contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer today for your free consultation.

Inheritance can be an issue in bankruptcy law. One might think that after you receive a discharge in your bankruptcy case, your case is done and the court does not have an interest in your finances. This is not always so.

In a Chapter 7 case, if a loved one dies and leave you an inheritance within 180 days from the date of filing your case, then this money becomes part of your bankruptcy estate. The trustee may want some or all of the inherited funds to distribute to creditors. The important thing to remember is that the date that you become eligible for the inheritance that is the date to use in this 180 day analysis. This is the date of the loved one's death, not when you actually receive the money or property.

In a Chapter 13 case there is an ongoing obligation to keep the trustee appraised of what property you own. Once they learn of an inheritance, they will likely take those funds for the benefit of your creditors. This can occur any time during the case. Since Chapter 13 cases are often as long as five years, it is important to make arrangements with relatives who may pass on during this time.

If you think you may receive an inheritance around the time when your going to be in bankruptcy, make sure to discuss this with your Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney so that steps can be taken to preserve your family's interest in those assets. To speak with a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today, call us at 904-685-1200.

If you file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must attend a 341 Meeting of Creditors at the federal courthouse. This is a hearing with the trustee, and any creditors are invited to attend, though usually they decline to. You will be put under Oath and asked to produce a photo I.D. and social security card. Then the trustee will ask you some questions. Here are some sample questions that a trustee might ask.

1. Are you personally familiar with the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements and related documents? To the best of your knowledge, is the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents true and correct?

2. Are all of your assets identified on the schedules?

3. Have you listed all of your creditors on the schedules?

4. Have you previously filed bankruptcy?

5. What is the address of your current employer?

6. Is the copy of the tax return you provided a true copy of the most recent tax return you filed?

7. Do you have a domestic support obligation? To whom? Please provide to me the claimant's address and telephone number, but do not state it on the record.

8. Have you made any transfers of any property or given any property away within the last one year period?

9. Do you have a claim against anyone or any business?

10. Does anyone owe you money?

11. Do you own an automobile?

12. If you do not own an automobile, how do you get around?

The questions that the trustee will ask you will most likely pertain to your specific circumstance, as outlined in your schedules. Your bankruptcy attorney will attend with you, so if you do not know the answer to a question or are confused, your attorney will be able to help you. It is important, as when filing, to be honest in your answers. The 341 Meeting usually only takes around 10 minutes per person. To contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today for a free consultation, call 904-685-1200.

Upon filing for bankruptcy protection, an automatic stay is put in place. This means that creditors can not try and collect from you. So a creditor cannot call you to request payment, send bills to you, garnish your wages anymore, or repossess your car without court permission. If there is a foreclosure suit against you, that suit must also stop immediately. If your home is sold and you filed prior to the sale, that sale can be vacated. Obviously, this is a powerful tool bankruptcy. Many people file to stop creditors from taking actions against them or their property.

The automatic stay will remain in effect until one of the following things occurs:
1. A creditor petitions the court for relief from automatic stay and the court enters an order granting it;
2. You receive a discharge in your bankruptcy case; or
3. Your case is dismissed.

If you have creditors that you would like to keep at bay by filing for bankruptcy and getting automatic stay protection, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today for a free consultation to discuss your specific case.

Two bankruptcy petition preparers in Wisconsin are in big trouble with the Court, facing possible criminal charges. Jennifer Abbott, who is a disbarred attorney, was cited with contempt by a bankruptcy judge. The Court said that she has violated bankruptcy Court Orders repeatedly and she refused to obey a subpoena issued by the U.S. Trustee's office. Abbot has also been convicted of felony theft for stealing from a client.

The second bankruptcy petition preparer, Gaynor Morrison, is in trouble for failing to appear in bankruptcy Court when ordered to do so. Also, he was alleged to have been overcharging clients and failed to return fees to clients after being ordered to by the Court.

Bankruptcy petition preparers are non-attorneys who help people file for bankruptcy. Courts and trustees often comment that the petitions or other required documents are flawed when drafted by a bankruptcy petition preparer. If this happens and the case gets dismissed without discharge, people could lose valuable assets or have to pay additional filing fees. Not all bankruptcy petition preparers are unprofessional, but it is best to have a licensed attorney with knowledge of the complexities of the Bankruptcy Code prepare your bankruptcy documents. To contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today, call 904-685-1200.

In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, some of your debts must be paid through a Chapter 13 Plan. This plan lasts up to 5 years. A part of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy is that all of your monthly disposable income is committed to your unsecured creditors. Without proper budgeting, this may not leave money for unexpected expenses, like your car breaking down, unexpected medical bills, or needing to fly to California last-minute for a funeral. It is not uncommon for debtors to fall behind on their Plan payments on occasion. So what happens if you do?

If payments are a month or more behind, the Trustee will typically file a Motion to Dismiss your case for Failure to Make Plan Payments. If this is your first time missing a payment, the Court will enter an order giving you a specific amount of time to make up your payments, usually 60 or 90 days. The Order will state the date by which you need to be current.

One great way to make sure and not get behind on your payments is to have the money taken directly from your paycheck and given to the trustee. In the Jacksonville, Florida Middle District, we can have a judge sign an order for direct withdraw of those funds. This makes it much more difficult for debtors to get behind.

Another thing you should do is to keep track of your payment online. The Jacksonville, Florida Chapter 13 trustee has a website where you can see if your payment has been received, which creditors are getting money, if you are delinquent and by how much.

If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today at 904-685-1200.

Yes, you can still file for bankruptcy. However, a very important part of every bankruptcy case is your exemptions. Exemptions allow you to keep your real and personal property. There are federal exemptions, but most states have adopted their own exemption laws. To use Florida exemptions in your bankruptcy, there are residency requirements. If you have lived in Florida for the 730 days prior to your filing, you can use Florida's exemptions. If you have not lived here for that long, then your exemptions will be those of the state in which you resided for during the 180 days prior to your filing or the federal exemptions, whichever your prior state's law indicates.

Florida is often seen as having a liberal homestead exemption, as it allows you to keep your home despite unsecured creditors. However, to use the Florida homestead exemption, you must have owned the home for 1215 days, otherwise you can only protect up to $125,000 in equity. Since nearly half the homes in Florida are underwater on their mortgage, it is a rare circumstance that anyone has more equity that the federal system allows. If you are unclear what exemptions you are allowed to use, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today to discuss your specific case and what exemptions would be best for you.

When filing for bankruptcy, it is very important to be very honest and disclose everything. If you do not, you risk having your bankruptcy denied, discharge revoked or even prison time in the worst case scenario. When you sign your bankruptcy documents, you are doing so swearing that they are true under penalty of perjury. If the trustee finds out that something you have in your schedules is incomplete or untrue, this will raise a red flag and the trustee will scrutinize your bankruptcy schedules even more.

A common way that people fail to disclose everything in bankruptcy is trying to hide assets. Debtors might leave off a gold watch or a private bank account. This is a big mistake. When filing for bankruptcy, you must list all of your assets. Even if you think an asset is inconsequential or minute, you should list it. It is better to have overkill than to raise a red flag.

Another thing debtors sometimes fail to list is creditors that happen to be friends or relatives. Or maybe the debtor does not want a specific creditor to know that they have filed for bankruptcy, so they do not want to list that creditor. You should not do this. You need to list all creditors to whom you currently owe any kind of debt on your bankruptcy papers. The trustee wants to make sure that all of your creditors get their fair share of your estate. No matter your intentions, make sure to list every creditor. If you do not and the trustee finds out, this will raise a red flag.

If you fail to disclose everything on your bankruptcy schedules, you will most likely be sorry in the long run. However, the trustee may be understanding if you make an honest mistake. If you accidentally leave something off your schedules, correct the mistake by filing an amendment as soon as you realize the mistake.

To learn more about bankruptcy and to schedule a free consultation, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today at 904-685-1200.

Doctors practicing in the Jacksonville area should consider their options in bankruptcy if they've been found liable for medical malpractice, especially if they were not covered by insurance.

Some debts are non-dischargable, as referred to in our previous entry. However, 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(6) prevents a debtor from discharging debts arising from willful and malicious injury to another person.

In Kawaauhau v. Geiger attorneys argued about the definition of "Willful", as it could mean an intentional act that brings about an injury or an act that brings about an intentional injury. The Supreme Court oversaw the case and unanimously found that Congress intended the statute to prevent only intentional injuries, not intentional acts that lead to injuries. This means that a doctor who commits negligence can still discharge their liability for that injury in bankruptcy.

In theory, this means that a doctor could practice medicine without malpractice insurance and file bankruptcy if they were ever liable for negligence. Of course, this would likely mean filing a Chapter 13 due to a doctor's income being traditionally too high for the means test, but it would allow that doctor to keep his home as exempt in bankruptcy and allow him to discharge the debt.

If you are a doctor who has been practicing without malpractice insurance and are concerned about your liability, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation and we'll explore your options.

If you have filed a bankruptcy in Jacksonville and have had debts discharged in the Florida bankruptcy court, a creditor cannot make an attempt to collect on that debt. If the creditor does, they are likely violating 11 USC §524. §524 serves as an injunction preventing the creditor from contacting the discharged debtor. This is similar to an injunction in family law commonly known as a Restraining Order. However, while a violation of a Restraining Order can lead to imprisonment, violation of a bankruptcy discharge injunction often leads to money being awarded to the client.

Discharge violations occur often and are sometimes overlooked by clients who just want to move on with their lives. The amount of money a client can be awarded depends on the severity and frequency of the collection attempts. Generally, the cost to bring an action against the creditor is paid for by the money collected from them. That means that a client could pay nothing out of pocket and could still walk away with cash.

If you are being contacted by a creditor who should have been discharged in your bankruptcy and would like them to stop, please contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

Debt can be classified as secured, unsecured, or priority. A secured debt is one that is collateralized by property. This means that if you default on the debt, the creditor can take the property that secures the loan. Your mortgage loan is probably secured by your home. Your auto loan is probably secured by your auto.

An unsecured debt is when you make a promise to repay the debt, but the debt is not secured by any collateral. If you default on the promise, the creditor cannot take your property without obtaining a judgment.

A priority debt is a debt that is entitled to repayment ahead of other debts that you owe. Taxes and some attorney fees are priority debts. A list of priority debts can be found in 11 U.S.C. §507.

If you are having issues with debt, contact Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today for a free consultation.