Whether their  lay offs are permanent or temporary,  people are looking for ways to save money on goods and services that they need. With the advent of the Internet, people have become used to finding information and deals on items they need. The Internet Age has made  people used to getting things fast and cheap, or even free. It has also made people believe in do-it-yourself. Just watch a video and you can do anything yourself.  The recent lockdowns have had people searching for Youtube videos on how to cut their own hair, since most salons and barber shops have been closed.

Some people who are facing overwhelming debt also look for do-it-yourself solutions to deal with their debt. They often file for bankruptcy without an attorney. There are signs in Jacksonville along I-95 exits saying “Bankruptcy $150.” These signs are placed along the interstate by non-lawyers or “petition preparers” who will take $150 from you to type the documents necessary to file a bankruptcy case. The thought is that bankruptcy is just filing out some forms and filing them with a court.  (This author once had a boss, who is a lawyer. This lawyer  declared, “Bankruptcy isn’t rocket science; it is just filling out a bunch of forms about your finances.”  When this person filed for bankruptcy a few years later, she hired a competent lawyer.)

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.

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.

Even if you are lucky enough to have the credit card company or credit bureaus acknowledge the debt is not yours and was the result of identity theft, they often will still send the debt to a collection company who will try to collect the debt from you. If you have ever been contacted by a debt collector, you are probably all too familiar with their scare tactics and relentless calls in their efforts to collect anything they can from you. It is never easy having to deal with a collection agency. It can be very stressful and overwhelming. Not to mention the continued adverse effect these debts have on your credit report, lowering your credit score and preventing you from obtaining credit yourself.

This is why after years of frustration and not being able to clear oneself of these debts, many turn to bankruptcy after identity theft in Jacksonville, Florida. Bankruptcy can finally get you away from debt left behind by identity theft. Since bankruptcy discharges most types of debts that are the result of identity theft (such as credit card debts and personal loans), not only can bankruptcy relieve you from owing identity theft debts, it can also help you to finally improve your credit score as the debts on your credit report will show that they have been discharged through bankruptcy and that you no longer owe them. Once your credit score finally recovers after some time, you will be able to obtain your own new credit.

While bankruptcy after identity theft in Jacksonville, Florida is usually a very last resort, it can most likely give you the relief you have been seeking. Bankruptcy is also a lot less expensive than hiring an attorney to help you go after each credit card company individually. Contact the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC today for a free consultation. An experienced bankruptcy attorney can help you finally put identity theft behind you.

How do you get a Report of No Distribution?

Again, a Report of No Distribution from a Trustee means that you have no assets that can be taken and given to your creditors. You either have no assets whatsoever, or you are able to protect the assets you have through exemptions.

For example, in Florida, we have a Homestead Exemption, a motor vehicle exemption of $1,000, a personal property exemption ($1,000 when claiming the Homestead Exemption and $4,000 when not claiming the homestead exemption), and a retirement account exemption.

If you own your residence and it has equity in it, you can protect that equity by claiming the homestead exemption. If you are making payments on your vehicle and you have very little equity in the vehicle (up to $1,000), you can protect the vehicle my continuing to make your monthly payments and claiming the $1,000 motor vehicle exemption. Even your 401K can be protected.

In this scenario, which is very common, you would receive a Notice of No Distribution from your trustee as long as all of your personal property is worth no more than $1,000. Is it also key to note, that if you file with a spouse, you are entitled to double the amount in exemptions. By filing with a spouse, you would get an $8,000 personal property exemption (a $2,000 personal property exemption when also claiming the homestead exemption).

Is my bankruptcy case closed once I get a Report of No Distribution?

Unfortunately, not quite yet. But the only thing left for you to do is to wait. The 341 hearing is held relatively early in the bankruptcy process, roughly 30 to 45 days after you filed your bankruptcy petition. And the Report of No Distribution is generally filed right after that hearing. You will have to wait roughly another two months for your debts to be officially discharged and your bankruptcy case to be closed.

Just because you think you can protect all of your assets with exemptions and obtain a Report of No Distribution, it isn’t always that simple and straight forward. There are assets and issues you might not think to take into account. Not to mention that every trustee can and will act differently. One trustee might want to go after an asset while another might not see the effort as being worth their time. That is why it is so important always to consult and work with an experienced bankruptcy attorney before filing for bankruptcy. Contact the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC today.

The federal student loan program was initially created with the goal of making a college education affordable for all children. Originally student loans were only meant to help fill the bridge between grant money and the cost of tuition, books, and housing. In other words, student loans were only supposed to supplement education costs. Student loans were never meant to completely cover the full costs of receiving a higher education.

Instead of being based on your creditworthiness like most other types of debts, student loans are only based on your need. Due to this need v. creditworthiness approach, Congress did not feel that student loans should be dischargeable through bankruptcy except under very extreme circumstances that are completely out of your control. Specifically, Congress did not want to put the burden of unpaid student loans onto the taxpayers.

Nonetheless, there were put into place a couple of programs for those facing a partial financial hardship. The first program was the William Ford Foundation, which provided an income contingent repayment plan. This program is available for those who choose to take lower paying jobs such as in public service. There is also the Income Based Repayment Program. With this program, your payments are based on your income. After 20 years, the amount still owed is discharged; however, there are still huge limitations on how you can qualify to remain in this program.

Of course, things did not go the way Congress had intended. Federal government spending on higher education could not and cannot keep up with the ever-increasing costs of earning a college degree. Federal grant programs failed to cover the entire costs and, as a result, students began looking to borrow money from other sources (privately funded student loans) once they had exhausted the federal government-insured student loans. This left college graduates with very high student loans to pay back.

In the Middle District of Florida where I practice, and encompasses the Jacksonville and Orlando divisions, an all or nothing approach has been taken towards the dischargeability of student loans. You either qualify 100% for your student loans to be discharged because of an extreme circumstance, which has a very high level of proof, or you do not. There is no middle ground.

However, Representative John Delaney introduced bipartisan legislation last Friday that would make student loan debt dischargeable through bankruptcy. So everything might be changing in 2017! The bill has been named the Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act (H.R. 2366).

In 2016, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the amount of student loan debt reached an all-time high of $1.3 trillion dollars.

At the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC, we are always looking at creative methods to help our clients deal with their overwhelming debt burden. Contact our office today for a free initial consultation at (904) 685-1200. There are a lot of options available. The trick is finding the one that best fits you and your life. We are here to help you put your financial health back on track.

There are 2 ways in which the deed of your surrendered home can be transferred out of your name. The first is for your mortgage holder to agree to a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is where the bank agrees to take back possession of the home and you simply sign the deed over to your mortgage holder and provide them with the keys. In order to get a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, you must reach out to your mortgage holder and ask them if they will agree to a deed-in-lieu. If your mortgage holder refuses to accept a deed-in-lieu, your only other option is to wait for your mortgage holder to foreclose on the home. When your mortgage holder begins the foreclosure process, it is important to make sure they are only foreclosing “in rem.” This means they are only asking the court for possession of the home and not suing you personally for the debt, since the debt was discharged through your bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, it may take your mortgage holder years to begin foreclosing on the home. It is important to know that as long as the property remains deeded in your name, you will remain responsible for the property taxes, homeowner association dues, the upkeep of the property, etc. If it does take your mortgage holder years to foreclose, it could also mean you will have to wait even longer after you received your discharge in order to purchase a new home. This is because the foreclosure judgment will most likely be reported on your credit report.

The good news is that you can definitely file bankruptcy again, but there are very strict time limits that must be followed if you have already received a Chapter 13 discharge. In order to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you must wait 6 years from when you filed your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, but you only have to wait 2 years from when you filed your Chapter 13 in order to file another Chapter 13. Therefore, you can usually file for another Chapter 13 immediately after receiving a Chapter 13 discharge, since Chapter 13 Plans generally last between three and five years.

In the above scenario, you filed your first Chapter 13 Bankruptcy on August 15, 2013. Today is October 29, 2015, just over 2 years later. Therefore, you cannot yet file a Chapter 7, but you can file another Chapter 13 in order to receive bankruptcy protection now from your harassing creditors.

Although you no longer have to pay your second mortgage because you are no longer financially liable for the debt, your second mortgage still has a lien on your home. When you received your first and second mortgage, they each placed a lien on your home in order to secure their interest in your home. These liens allow each mortgage to foreclose on the home in the event you default on your payments. Unfortunately, the bankruptcy only removed your financial liability for your second mortgage. It did not remove the lien the second mortgage placed on your home. Consequently, your second mortgage maintains the right to foreclose on your home if you default on your payments.

So what do you do? You must payoff or settle your second mortgage before your second mortgage forecloses on your home or before you sell your home, whichever comes first. However, when you need to settle your second mortgage largely depends on how much your home is currently worth and how much you owe on your first mortgage. If your second mortgage chooses to foreclose on your home, then your second mortgage must payoff your first mortgage in order to hold the home free and clear. In other words, if your home is only worth $200,000, but you owe $250,000 on your first mortgage, then your second mortgage is not likely to foreclose at the current time because they would have to pay your first mortgage $50,000 more than what the house could be sold for. If you are currently in this situation you have the luxury of not having to try settling your second mortgage immediately. You can take time to save as much money as possible in order to try to settle your second mortgage for a lower amount in one lump some. You also have the option of simply continuing to make your normal monthly payments if you are current on your payments. Regardless of what you decide to do today, it is important to know that if and/or when you decide to sell your home, your second mortgage will have to be settled in order to complete the transaction.

First you should consider all possibilities that could get you out of your current debt situation. One possible alternative is to come up with a repayment plan based on your current income. This approach basically allows you to make a little progress with each paycheck you receive. You will most likely be living paycheck to paycheck, but if you are in a lot of debt, you are probably already doing this. If you think this approach is possible for you, you must then consider whether you can emotionally deal with the lingering debt and harassing telephone calls you most definitely receive from your creditors until you have paid everything off. This could last for years and take a toll on your mental and physical health. If you think you can do this financially, but do not believe you can handle the mental or physical stress that comes with it, then this approach may not be a good one for you.

If the above approach is not for you, then you might want to consider filing for bankruptcy, but you must first fully understand which chapter of bankruptcy you are eligible to file and how bankruptcy will affect your debts, assets, future, and health. There are generally two types of bankruptcies an individual files. The first is a Chapter 7, which is a strict liquidation of your assets and a wiping out of your debts, and the second is a Chapter 13, which is a reorganization of your debts. Which chapter you are able to file mostly depends on your household income and family size.