Credit Cards

Published on: June 23, 2020

Can A Judgment Creditor Really Take My House to Pay the Judgment?

As the nation enters Phase 2 of the Coronavirus Lockdown, millions of Americans are still behind on their monthly bills. Many lenders have implemented programs to help people manage debt payments during this economic uncertainty. However, while people with student loans, mortgages and automobile loans were offered helpful alternatives to survive the Corona-induced downturn, people with credit card debts often were not. Debtors with medical debt have not fared well either.

A recent article in the California Law Review Online declared that, “The coronavirus pandemic is set to metastasize into a debt collection pandemic. This is because while evictions, foreclosures and student loan payments have been stayed by various government orders and federal regulations, there is no blanket moratorium or order stopping debt collection lawsuits. Many debt collection law firms have ramped up credit card collections lawsuits since they have not been able to bring or finish foreclosure lawsuits. Many credit card collection lawsuits end up with the consumer getting a default judgment entered against them, since they believe there is nothing that they can do to stop these lawsuits. Debt collection law firms nationwide kept filing new cases during the shutdown, consumers be damned. For example, in Maryland, two major debt collectors alone filed over 2,000 suits in April. These law firms must keep their gravy train rolling, even if many Americans have lost their jobs or part of their income, through no fault of their own.

After a homeowner gets a judgment against him or her, the law firm will usually attempt to get paid–voluntarily at first, and then by using court process to take the homeowner’s income and assets. There are several ways in Florida that a judgment creditor can collect on a judgment.

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Published on: May 15, 2020

With So Many Floridians Losing Their Jobs or Income, Now is a Good Time to See if You Qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

By Robert Wilbert

Because of the historic economic impact of COVID-19, economists are predicting a “tsunami” of personal bankruptcy filings. Well-known businesses like J. Crew, Beall’s, Goody’s, Gold’s Gym and Neiman Marcus recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Most major airlines could face bankruptcy without a government bailout.

Americans who have become used to using credit cards as a stop-gap measure to survive pay-cuts might not be able to rely on this method since nearly 50 million Americans just had their credit card limits cut.

For centuries, companies have used bankruptcy as a tool to survive, reorganize or to shut-down. Several airlines have filed bankruptcy over the past three decades, primarily to break contracts and modify pensions.

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Published on: March 17, 2020

Bankruptcy Could Help You Deal With the Economic Impact of Coronavirus

By Robert Wilbert

Americans can’t go online, turn on the TV or go shopping without being bombarded with news about coronavirus. Our Facebook feeds are rife with posts about the virus and how much impact it will have on our every day lives. Just a few months ago, we were gearing up for March Madness, spring break at Disneyworld, PGA Golf Tournaments and Lucero at the Ryman Auditorium. Now those events have been postponed or canceled, and even Orlando theme parks are closed for the rest of the month. Just today, IRS postponed the deadline on which income taxes are due to July 15.

Our lives have changed in a flash. The Associated Press warns that Americans must brace for new life of no school and growing dread. We now spend more time in line at Walmart buying toilet paper than we do lining up for Black Friday sales. Parents worry about their jobs while they wonder who’ll watch their children while they are at work since schools have extended spring break or shut down for weeks.

The world has changed. We are told to practice “social distancing” and not come within so many feet of our fellow human beings. People are wearing medical masks and gloves when they go out. Some people walk around with Lysol bottles.

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Published on: June 11, 2018

Credit Counseling v. Bankruptcy in Jacksonville, Florida

By Kendal Schoepfer

Many times, I meet with potential clients who are in the process of weighing credit counseling v. bankruptcy in Jacksonville, Florida in hopes of achieving debt relief. These potential clients, who largely become clients, want to know what the main differences are between credit counseling and bankruptcy. I always stress the importance of my client’s goals as they try to decide which option is best for them. For some, bankruptcy is the last possible option they will consider. This is due to the bad stigma many people associate bankruptcy with, but this is why bankruptcy might make the most sense in the long run.

Credit Counseling

Let’s start with defining credit counseling. Credit counseling is when you work with an agency or company you have hired to help you come up with a plan to pay off your debt. However, you must be very careful when choosing a credit counseling agency as many charge high rates and do not actually help you pay off your debt as promised. I have many clients who have come to me after this specific experience. It is best to choose a not-for-profit agency. Continue reading →

Published on: May 29, 2018

How to rebuild your Credit Score after Bankruptcy?

By Kendal Schoepfer

How to rebuild your credit score after bankruptcy is a question I get asked from just about all of my clients. It is one of the most important unanimous concerns clients seem to have going into bankruptcy and it should be. In fact, the toll filing bankruptcy can take on your credit score is probably one of the most common reasons why many people in Jacksonville, Florida look at bankruptcy as a very last resort and avoid it all costs. Unfortunately, most are falsely under the assumption they will not be able to use any credit for seven to ten years after filing bankruptcy. But this is not always the case. If you start taking steps to rebuild your credit score after your bankruptcy is concluded, you could have a great credit score in just one to two years.

Here are a few simple steps you can take to rebuild your credit score after bankruptcy quickly. Continue reading →

Published on: March 9, 2018

Getting your first Credit Card

By Kendal Schoepfer

I remember turning 18 and being so excited to get my first credit card. I was still a senior in high school, so I went to my favorite department store and applied for my very first credit card. To my surprise, I was approved right away! It seemed all too easy. Shouldn’t getting a credit card be a little more difficult to get?

When I got that credit card, I was so excited to purchase a Coach wallet (my first very own big purchase) and vowed to not use the card again until it was paid off. Of course, I fell into the same trap as many other 18-year-olds and did not stop there. I wanted another credit card and went to my second favorite store and filled out another credit card application.

When I arrived at college that fall, I was shocked to see credit card company after credit company with booths set up on campus. They offered ridiculous free items to get students to sign up, and, guess what, it worked! The booths were always busy with students filling out credit card applications. I don’t know what kept me from filling out one of those applications (maybe it was that I already had one or that it had been drilled into me by my family never to purchase what you cannot afford) I never did and am so thankful today I did not. Continue reading →

Published on: March 16, 2017

How will my spouse’s bankruptcy affect me?

By Kendal Schoepfer

One thought that many people think about when getting married, is what their future spouse’s credit history is and their ability to obtain new debt. A correlating question is how will their future spouse’s credit history affect their own ability to obtain new debt. Why? Because they most likely, one day in the future, would like to know they have the option to purchase a new home, motor vehicle, or simply just obtain new debt. It can become much more concerning if your future spouse has filed bankruptcy within the last few years. How will their bankruptcy affect your ability to obtain new debt? Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors that can affect the answer to this question. So, regrettably, the answer is that it will depend.

Most importantly, it is crucial to make note that the fact alone that your future spouse filed bankruptcy, regardless of when, is absolutely immaterial to your individual credit report. Your credit report will not merge with your future spouse’s credit report simply because you got married. You both will maintain separate and apart credit reports. In other words, your individual credit report will remain the same as it was before getting married. However, by being married, your spouse may have to sign certain types of contracts. Continue reading →

Published on: December 30, 2016

My Credit Card Debt was Charged-Off, now what?

By Kendal Schoepfer

If you fall very far behind on your credit card payments, or any other kind of debt for that matter, your debt might appear as having been charged-off on your credit report. A charge-off occurs when you are at least 180 days behind on your credit card payments, and the bank decides that the debt is no longer collectible and decides to write it off as a loss. However, this does not mean you no longer owe the debt. You are still 100% responsible for the debt. But what do you do and what should you expect?

The debt will have to be repaid.

At first, you might think that it is a good thing that your debt has been charged-off and you might even think that you no longer owe the debt. Unfortunately, when your bank decides your account is uncollectible, that is simply an accounting term. It in no way affects your liability for the entire debt owed. However, there is one caveat. The bank can only collect on the debt until the statute of limitations expires. In Florida, the statute of limitations for a credit card debt is five years. Continue reading →

Published on: September 25, 2015

Civil Judgments and Bankruptcy

By Kendal Schoepfer

A civil judgment is obtained when you fail to pay a debt that you owe, such as a credit card debt, and the creditor/lender files a civil lawsuit against you in state court for a breach of contract. If you fail to respond to the lawsuit and/or do not have a valid defense, a civil judgment is entered against you. If it is a relatively small judgment amount and you do not have a lot of other debt, then it might be best to simply set up a payment plan to pay it off. However, if the judgment amount is large, is more than you can handle, or you have a lot of other debts, then you might want to consider bankruptcy in order to get a fresh start.

The good news is that bankruptcy will discharge the majority of civil judgments entered against you, but there are a few exceptions. It depends entirely on what the underlying debt was for and whether a lien has been placed on your real property. There are certain types of judgments that cannot be discharged with a bankruptcy.

The most common type of civil judgment is a judgment for unpaid debts, such as a credit card, medical bill, rent, repossession or personal loans, just to name a few. If your judgment is for a debt such as one of these, then it is most likely dischargeable through bankruptcy.

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Published on: September 8, 2015

Received a Summons after Bankruptcy. What should I do?

By Kendal Schoepfer

The most common type of summons received after filing bankruptcy and obtaining a discharge is a foreclosure summons. When received, it can be very alarming. You filed bankruptcy, surrendered a home, and received a discharge. You moved out of the home and on with your life thinking you are no longer liable for the home. However, when you elected to surrender the home in your bankruptcy petition, this only took care of your financial responsibility regarding the home. The bankruptcy did nothing about the deed for the home being in your name. Therefore, the bank still has to foreclose on the property in order to get the property out of your name and to take legal possession of the property. When a foreclosure is purely to take legal possession of the home and not for any money damages, it is called an in rem foreclosure action. You do not have to answer the summons unless you believe you were incorrectly served or they are suing for money damages as well. The mortgage holder must serve you because you are an interested party due to your name being on the deed.

If the summons you received after bankruptcy is for a credit card or another kind of debt you believe was discharged in bankruptcy, then you need to respond to the summons stating that the subject debt was part of a bankruptcy. Before doing so, make sure the debt was properly listed on your bankruptcy schedules and it is a debt that can be discharged. If it was properly listed on your schedules and you received a discharge, then assert this in your response/answer to the summons. Once you show the debt was discharged, the action should be dismissed.

If you are unsure of what type of lawsuit you have been served with or whether the debt was properly included in your bankruptcy, you should consult with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. A simple review of the summons, accompanying complaint, and your bankruptcy petition by an attorney can help you determine what action, if any, you need to take. Contact the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC by calling (904) 685-1200 to speak with an attorney today.